Linnet, Liverpool and the last woman standing
|Linnet was the only woman in the men’s side representing Zimbabwe at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup. Image: Angelica Ibarra Rodriguez
By Isobel Irvine
“Yes, I’m the only goalkeeper and the only girl in the Zimbabwe men’s team”
After one of the most frantic, evenly-contested matches at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup it all came down to penalties in the Men’s Tier 4 D’Live Cup.
The lofty lads of Denmark towered over the slighter opposition of Zimbabwe but, as the latter’s keeper secured penalty attempt after attempt, it wasn’t long before the African side edged the win. As the crowd rose to their feet and cheers rang around the pitch, the hero of the hour was lauded not only by the delighted winners but also, showing their respect for such a brave performance, by the opposition.
“It feels amazing! I’ve been waiting so patiently for so long for this precious moment. I can’t express in words how thrilled I am, and how glad I am to be part of this winning team,” enthused the owner of that safe pair of hands, Linnet Moyo, as she eventually emerged from the celebratory huddle.
For the hero of the hour, substitute heroine - twenty-five-year-old Linnet was not just the only woman in the Zimbabwe team, but also the only woman on the pitch during that match.
“Yes, I’m the only goalkeeper and the only girl in the Zimbabwe men’s team,” she explains. “It’s not difficult, it’s actually super good to be the only girl in the team. I like bonding with the guys. In my team back in Zimbabwe, we play beside the boys’ team and often combine to train with them, so I’m used to playing with the boys.”
|"The game went quite well so I just carried on” - Linnet stepped in one day when her team’s goalkeeper was injured and the rest is history. Image: Anita Milas
Home, back in Zimbabwe is a small village in a far-flung rural area. “Life there is hard. We still don’t have the internet and if you don’t have that communication now, there’s so much you can’t do.”
Her single mum looked after her there until she was two, when she went to work in South Africa as a maid. “It’s quite common, in our village, for parents to go away to work,” Linnet explains.
“If they are outside the country they will come home once a year - so I only see my mum in December for a week. I didn’t know anything about my father until I was 21 - he’s not in the picture.
“I was raised by my grandparents, growing up with two male cousins, so maybe that’s why I’m comfortable socialising with boys,” she concludes.
Currently representing Las Palmas, a League 2 team in Bulawayo where she currently lives, Linnet began playing football while at high school - “only because we didn’t have soccer for girls at my primary school,” she adds.
“I began as a defender then, as time went on, our goalkeeper got injured, we had no reserve, and the coach suddenly picked me. It was a position I’d never thought about, but that game went quite well, so it just carried on.
|Linnet Moyo was awarded Best Goalkeeper in the men’s competition at the Seoul 2024 Homeless World Cup. Image: Anita Milas
“Though I enjoy it there’s definitely a lot of pressure, especially playing as a woman against men who are so quick. You always have to be on your toes.
“My goal is to always do my best, for me to help the team to get a win. But if we fail, I have to do my best to save at least some goals. I am the last line of defence so I have to make sure that my mistakes do not cause the goal.”
As goalkeeper with Las Palmas ladies, in a league with ten women’s teams, Linnet is used to playing in front of spectators - but far fewer than during her week in Seoul. “It is difficult in our country to get people to come to watch women’s sport and to be taken seriously - there is the mentality that football is for men, so they don’t treat us with respect. We are always trying our best to make things better.”
Making things better in her own life, Linnet has recently completed a HND in Accounting at Bulawayo Polytechnic.
“I’m hoping to get a job but it’s very hard in my country - I must keep trying.”
Full-time employment is very much part of Linnet’s future hopes, alongside playing with a bigger women’s club in the premier league in Zimbabwe, then, “one day to represent my country in the women’s national team.
“My dream is to play for the top teams and make my mum proud, even if it means playing outside my own country. In 2023 I even went for trials in Denmark - it didn’t happen but I’ll keep trying.”
While aiming high in the soccer world, Linnet also has a word of advice for young girl players embarking on their football journey.
“Play football but have something else. Put your education first,” she says. “Football [in Zimbabwe] does not pay so that’s why I chose to further myself by studying accounting. If I do not succeed, ultimately, in football, then I have another skill. I would always encourage a balance between school and sport.”
One area, however, where there’s definitely no alternative to redress the balance is in her support of her favourite team.
|Linnet is presented with a club t-shirt from Stephen and Maisie, two Homeless World Cup volunteers from Liverpool. Image: Anita Milas
“I love Liverpool! You’ll never walk alone!”
A timely shout-out to Liverpool FC women? Well, as Linnet knows only too well - and she ended the tournament by also picking up the award for best goalkeeper in the men’s competition - you never know what you can achieve unless you try!
|Zimbabwe is represented by Young Achievement Sports for Development (YASD).
YASD are one of four delivery partners in our two-year collaborative project with the FIFA Foundation, ‘Football to Protect Vulnerable Women from Exploitation’. The programme has created and introduced two new curriculums using football to tackle gender based violence. More than 600 people have taken part across the four participating countries - Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.