BINDURA, Zimbabwe -- Felistas Muzongondi used to be a house cleaner. Shes now an office clerk for a sugar manufacturer, and also the captain of the Zimbabwe womens soccer team at the Olympics.If you need a reminder that the Olympics are about more than just riches and rewards, then the Zimbabwean soccer team is one of the starkest in Rio de Janeiro.Apart from the joy of qualifying for the Olympics, the biggest feat was showing what we can do as women in this country, Muzongondi said. I dont think before this achievement we had the recognition we deserved as women footballers in this country, and womens football in general.Paid only $20 a day each when on national team duty, and just $50 each for playing in a match, its no wonder the Zimbabwean players all have day jobs.Until recently, they didnt have their own uniforms, making do with cast-offs from the mens national team. Their pre-Olympic training camp was at a university campus where they slept in dorm rooms usually occupied by students and ate plain food served up in the colleges dining hall. The training equipment was basic.Even Zimbabwean officials have been of little help, and instead jeopardized the teams chances of making the Olympics because they didnt provide enough money to fly the squad to a qualifier in Ivory Coast, forfeiting that game.Somehow, the Zimbabwe team still made it to Rio, battling through all these issues and more to now rub shoulders with the best in the world. They are the first soccer team -- men or women -- from Zimbabwe to qualify for the Olympics, striking a blow for the womens game back home, which is severely underfunded and neglected, Muzongondi said.Determined to make the federation take notice of them and respect them, the players went on strike in the buildup to the Olympics to demand better wages and treatment.Financially we struggle more than the men, yet we have done what no other Zimbabwean team has managed to do, Muzongondi said. We are looked down upon as women footballers.Zimbabwe lost to Germany 6-1 and to Canada 3-1 in its first two matches in Rio and plays its final group game against Australia on Tuesday. But forget those scores and concentrate, rather, on the fact that Zimbabwe is ranked No. 93 in the world and still made it to the top 12 teams in the world.They left their mark on other teams, too. Canada coach John Herdman said he showed his players newspaper reports on how the Zimbabweans had faced up to adversity. One of the stories told of how the Zimbabwe team, known as the Mighty Warriors, scrambled together $100 to pay for a medical scan for one of the players.And theres Muzongondis personal story, too.She left Zimbabwe and its ruined economy for neighboring South Africa looking for work. She found a job as a house cleaner but it didnt pay enough and she packed her bags and got back on a bus for home, committing as much as she could to soccer this time while making ends meet at the sugar manufacturer.Money aside -- the players got another $50 each for making soccer history for their country and qualifying for the Olympics -- Muzongondi thinks they have earned something important.Now everyone in the country is talking about the Mighty Warriors, she said. To us, thats the greatest thing we have achieved -- recognition. 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"We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- For Mark Richt, the first nine months back at Miami have been hectic.The first order of business was assembling a staff and salvaging a recruiting class. Then came legal issues for a handful of players, though none of those matters will have a decided effect on the season. That was followed by a probe into players having access to luxury rental cars, which led to Miamis top three tacklers from a year ago being jettisoned.Plus, there was the small matter of figuring out what he had for a football team.Our coaches and players have really just done all we can do, Richt said. Now its time to go line up and play -- and see what we got.In other words, finally, football.Miami opens its first season of the Richt coaching era Saturday night at home against Florida A&M. The Hurricanes new coach will be calling plays, something he hasnt done in a decade and a decision he says has energized him in ways he didnt expect. And hell be relying on quarterback Brad Kaaya, who would unquestionably be considered Miamis most important player.Its something weve all been looking forward to since last December, honestly, said Kaaya, who turns 21 on Saturday. Im just eager to get out there with this team to see what we can do and put on film.Kaaya said he had trouble sleeping this week, his mind loaded with dreams about what Saturday will be like. Richt said he expects to experience some sleeplessness and nerves as well.First time I called plays in the scrimmage in the spring, I didnt sleep that night, Richt said. Wired. Excited.The same applies now to his homecoming. Richt graduated from Miami in 1982.On the other sideline Saturday, theres going to be some homecomings as well.Florida A&M has no shortage of players from the Miami area, and Rattlers coach Alex Wood is a former Hurricanes assistant -- helping the team win two national titles during his time in Coral Gables.Itll be fun to go back, said Wood, who was 1-10 in his debut season at Florida A&M a year ago. They dont play at the Orange Bowl anymore like they did when I was there, but we are, and I am, looking forward to it.Most of Miamis unanswered questions going into the opener are on the defensive side of the ball, especially afteer Al-Quadin Muhammad and Jermaine Grace were dismissed from the program after an investigation found violations related to the rental-car matter.ddddddddddddMiami native Manny Diaz, the Hurricanes new defensive coordinator, offered a succinct answer about how a defense overcomes depth issues.Unbelievable effort, Diaz said, and unwavering violence.---Heres some of what to know going into Saturday night:HONORING THE PAST: Richt wont be the only Miami alum getting cheered Saturday. The Hurricanes invited Ray Bellamy -- the first black player to receive a football scholarship from Miami back in the late 1960s and now a longtime academic advisor at Florida A&M -- to serve as an honorary captain. And Hurricanes grad Sam Dorman, a diving silver medalist at last months Rio Olympics, will be recognized in an on-field ceremony after the first quarter.AT RUNNING BACK: Joe Yearby rushed for 1,002 yards for Miami last season, but Mark Walton -- who had some off-field and now resolved legal issues overshadow his offseason -- earned the starting job. Miami also gets back Gus Edwards, who missed last season with injury.WHATS IN A NAME?: Miami plays at the the newly canopied, newly renamed Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins home has been renamed every three years, on average, since it opened in the 1980s so confusion is understandable. Is it Pro Player Stadium? Hard Rock Cafe Stadium? Wood asked, before being told what the actual name is. For the record, it hasnt been Pro Player Stadium since 2005.FOR OPENERS: Richt will try to become the sixth consecutive Miami coach to win his opening home game with the Hurricanes. Also Friday, the Hurricanes announced that theyve sold more than 40,000 season tickets for 2016.THE HISTORY: Florida A&M is 1-9 all-time against Miami, losing the last nine matchups. The lone Rattlers win came in 1979, when Richt was a backup quarterback for the Hurricanes. Since then, the Hurricanes have outscored the Rattlers 441-56 -- an average of 49-6. Their most recent meeting was 2014, a 41-7 Miami victory that was the first of Kaayas collegiate career. ' ' '