MUKWIMA CHILALA
FOOTBALL Association of Zambia (FAZ) president Keith Mweemba has paid tribute to veteran women’s football administrator Highness Saili, describing her as one of the key pioneers of the women’s game in Zambia.
Speaking during her burial at Leopard’s Hill Memorial Park, Mweemba said the women’s football fraternity had lost a figure whose contribution helped shape the path of the current success the game enjoys today.
He noted the irony in her death coming at a time when women’s football was at its peak, and said her passing marks a sad chapter in the country’s football history.
“Today marks a sad chapter in the history of our game as we put to rest one of the pioneers of our women’s game,” said Mweemba. “It is quite ironic that we are putting Mama Highness Saili to rest at a time our women’s game has taken a high pedestal in our game.”
Mweemba said Mama Saili was among the few people who believed in the women’s game at a time when the league was still in its infancy and lacked support.
“Mama Highness Saili was one of the architects of the success of the women’s game that we enjoy today,” he said. “Her association with the ladies’ game in the early 90s when the women’s league was in its infant and uncertain stage is well documented.
Most of the fruits we are seeing today are partly due to the efforts of pioneers like Mama Saili who never gave up the dream in the early days.”
He said the achievements of the Copper Queens and the current visibility of women’s football were all tied to the early sacrifices of people like Mama Saili who remained committed to the sport.
And the FAZ president has since urged the Copper Queens to go on and win their opening game at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) this weekend in honour of Mama Saili.
“We can only urge our Copper Queens who are in Morocco to win their opener on Saturday as part of gifting our mother here a befitting sendoff,” said Mweemba.
Mama Highness Saili died on Friday after an illness. She was among the early figures that worked behind the scenes in organising the women’s league in the 1990s.
