Watching 24-year-old Mary Wilombe weave her magic in the middle of the pack in the Copper Queens’ international matches, one hardly gets the impression that she carries more than football burdens on her shoulders.
The Red Arrows midfielder is one of the outstanding footballers that take delight in multiple roles as a footballer, mother, and wife.She has already broken so much ground in her career having played at the 2014 under-17 FIFA World Cup in Costa Rica and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Just how does the 24-year-old cope with the demands of the game?
“I manage, when I am on the pitch, I am just a player and not a mother and wife. When I get home, I resume my wifely duties. I also become a mother. It is not easy, but I manage to divide my time,” she says.
Mary is currently in camp with the Copper Queens that are preparing for the 2022 Morocco African Women Cup of Nations (AWCON) final round two-legged tussles with Namibia.Zambia hosts Namibia on February 16 before heading to Windhoek for the February 23 final leg tie.
Voted the country’s best midfielder of the year in 2021, Mary has established herself as leader and model to upcoming footballers in the Copper Queens set up.
“I also encourage young girls to be focussed using myself as an example that where you are, I was also there. Everything you get, you think about your family. I encourage them to be responsible as football progress should be side by side with your life,” she says.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympian says she receives a lot of support from her family especially her husband (Isaac Mutemwe).Mary says they set the ground rules with her husband at the point of meeting clearly spelling her life set football career as non-negotiable.
“I met him elsewhere. He is not even a soccer fan. I explained to him from the beginning that I play football and he understood. I asked him if he was going to make me stop playing football, he said no,” she says.
“He explained that he understood that it was my chosen career and my talent. He said that whenever you feel like stopping, you will stop on your own.”
She adds: “My husband supports me a lot, if he did not support me, I would not be playing football. He encourages me a lot and pushes me a lot. He comes to watch some games especially the home matches.
”Mary says having gone through motherhood when she had her now three-year-old child named Taonga made her stronger.
“When I was pregnant, I was training up to five months. I even played a game and scored a goal in a league match. After giving birth I waited for the baby to be three months, that is when I started training,” she says.
“The child was being left with my mum. I came back stronger, I needed to catch up with the high fitness levels of my friends. I also used to steal a bit of time when the baby was sleeping. It did not take a lot of time because I used to have two sessions a day. By the time the baby was six months, I had reclaimed my place in the first team. I worked very hard. My target was to come back to the national team.
”True to her form she reclaimed her place in the national team and has never looked back.“I was on maternity leave after 2017. When I came, I found coach Bruce Mwape (Copper Queens coach). I played the qualifiers for the Olympics although I was not always in the team,” she says.
“I went to Chile for the friendly (November 28, 2020) and played 90 minutes. From that time, I became part of the team and played the South Africa friendly (2021). I played two games at the Olympics against Netherlands and China. I played the Cosafa 2021 and played all games.
”Mary says having more women being proud to be wives and mothers in the game will break some stereotypes that keep mothers away from the game.She says the bettered conditions in the game have brought some respectability to women footballers.
“Things have changed, football is a rewarding career for the girl child. There are sponsors in the game, before it used to be difficult but now footballers can live decent lives. I dreamt of playing the Olympics. I want the World Cup now,” she says.
Mary says although football is burdensome enough, she still must do her wifely duties at home.“There is no getting tired for a woman. I manage but there are moments when he understands that I am very tired, he supports me and helps when I am tired,” she candidly bares it all.
She decries the stigma around lady footballers that are seen as being in same sex relationships.
“Some people say female footballers cannot get married but when they see or hear from us, they will change their perception,” she says.
“Others look at the dress code by footballers and immediately form an opinion which may not be correct. They judge them from a distance. There are a lot of married ladies in football. Keep highlighting these things as it will open people’s minds.”
She adds: “When they see, they will know that even footballers can live normal married lives. Others are young and cannot be drawn into marriage. It is not just football we also run homes.
”Mary says the dress code by some lady footballers serve to encourage some stereotypes.
“People should not judge footballers by seeing them from a distance. Do not be deceived by dressing, others just wear men’s clothes but have boyfriends,” she says.
“You cannot force them to wear feminine clothes if they are comfortable in men’s clothes. Support us like the way you support guys. Some players that saw others get married they changed and got married. Do not just see girls wearing men’s clothes.”
Mary played for Breakthrough Sports Academy before joining Red Arrows where she currently plays.She dreams of one day joining the Zambian military establishment.
“My dream is to play football abroad one day and I have no doubt my husband will support me,” she says.
“I also hope one day I can be employed in the military as this opportunity has not yet happened for me.”
[FAZ]
