The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
MIGHTY Warriors midfielder, Rejoice “Maestro” Kampfuvuti has canned her international career as she sets her sights on starting a family.
After playing at the world’s biggest sporting showcase, the Olympics, Kampfuvuti said she felt it was time to move on from the sport that has been part of her life for the past 15 years.
Wedding bells are ringing for the diminutive midfielder and she is set to tie the knot in December with her United Kingdom-based fiancé, Simba Jirira.
Joyi, as Kampfuvuti is affectionately known, said the trip to Rio with the Mighty Warriors was the zenith of her career and is glad it ended on a high note and although she would have loved to make the trip to Cameroon for the African Women Cup of Nations, the tourney would have affected her wedding preparations.
“It’s not easy organising a wedding and I am getting married seven days after the tournament ends meaning I would have missed the crucial parts of the preparations so I asked to be excused,” she said.
The 24-year-old said after Simba popped the question last year she realised the time to move on from the game had come although football will always be her first love.
She is planning on relocating to the UK next year after the nuptials and hopes to continue playing the game although high on her agenda is starting a family.
Maestro was so good at the game that during her primary school days at Inzwananzi in Gwabalanda suburb teachers decided to include her in the boys’ team as she was extremely talented.
Kampfuvuti could have propelled the school to winning an inter-district competition had it not been for a church-mate who “spilled the beans” that she was female leading to the school’s expulsion from the tourney that was held at Mtshingwe Primary in Emakhandeni in 2000.
It was the remarkable talent that then nine-year-old Kampfuvuti possessed that was the highlight of the forgettable episode as there was no competition for her among females and was already training with the boys’ team.
The Inline Academy midfielder was quickly snapped up by the club after being identified by their director, Trust Kwembeya as a teenager at primary school.
After being recruited by the club she put her focus on the team, refusing offers by other clubs that wanted her signature.
“I am indebted to Kwembeya, my coach, Shadreck Mlauzi, Takundwa Chimundiya and the whole Inline admin that took me in as a nine-year-old, nurtured me and improved my game, enabling me to scale to dizzy heights of the game.
“It has not been an easy journey but perseverance, prayer, focus and consistency paid off at the end. It was not easy banging on the national team’s door but I never gave up and I am glad I was rewarded for my efforts and given the opportunity to represent my country,” said Kampfuvuti.
She said her international career has been most fulfilling and going to Rio was the icing on the cake as it was a great achievement although they were knocked out in the first round of the Olympics competition.
Winning the NetOne Charity Shield in 2014 ranks high among the accolades she has earned with Inline and this has left her content with the success attained with the club.
“I’m leaving with my head high from the game although it has not been rosy in the female game, I am happy with the success I got. The Marange Super League ranks as the best time in women football because we were focused on playing the game while most financial needs were provided for.
“We seriously need a national league if we are to be competitive in the international scene, it is unfortunate the economic situation is not conducive. Coming to camp you would find that some players had been active while some were only 20 percent fit so that negatively affected us and if you look at Rio our performance showed that we lacked that match fitness. The administration side of things should also improve but most of the problems point back to lack of money,” she said.
Turning to her sweetheart, Kampfuvuti said they met when they were young as she was friends with Jirira’s younger sisters, who used to attend training with her as she was just beginning her journey at Inline.
Although Jirira left for the UK when he was just 10, they had struck a friendship that saw them reconnect after more than a decade apart.
After re-establishing connection last year, Simba did not hesitate to propose.
“We grew up together but only started having a relationship early last year and in November the traditional lobola process was initiated and here we are planning for our wedding that will take place on 10 December,”
