Both Zimbabwe and South Africa have qualified for the women's Olympic football tournament at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

Zimbabwe will compete in the women’s football tournament at an Olympic Games for the first time in their history next year after they secured their Rio 2016 spot with an away goals victory over Cameroon.

The Zimbabwean side fell to a 2-1 defeat in the first leg in Yaounde but managed to scrape through thanks to Rudo Neshamba’s eighth-minute strike in the return fixture in their capital Harare, which proved to be the winning goal.

Zimbabwe will be joined in Brazil by South Africa as they overcame Equatorial Guinea, who were disqualified from qualifying for London 2012 for fielding an ineligible player.

Their qualification sparked scenes of joy in the capital and prompted their Government to promise bonus payments to their squad as well as an open-top bus parade through Harare.

The 1-0 win in the second leg over Cameroon, who finished bottom of their group at London 2012, marked the end to a topsy-turvy road to Rio for Zimbabwe, which included a controversial tie with Ivory Coast.

They failed to travel to the Ivorian city Abidjan, which saw Ivory Coast handed a 3-0 win, due to a lack of funds, but their opponents then opted to withdraw from the Rio 2016 qualifying campaign.

Zimbabwe were sent through to the next round although their two-legged clash with Cameroon was initially in doubt after FIFA asked for assurances that they had the funds required to play both matches.

South Africa captain Janine van Wyk says her team feel
South Africa captain Janine van Wyk says her team feel "on top of the world" after reaching Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

“This is what many teams have long dreamed of, but never achieved,” Neshamba said, although questions must now remain on the funding required to reach Rio.

“This means so much to the team and our supporters.”

South Africa, who failed to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, were held to a goalless draw in the first leg against Equatorial Guinea but claimed a 1-0 victory away from home in the second leg to secure their ticket to Rio.

Jermaine Seoposenwe was the heroine for her side as she netted the winning goal on the hour to seal South Africa’s Olympic spot.

Earlier on in their campaign they had claimed victories over Gabon and Kenya and the team was awarded a total of R1 million (£48,000/$74,000/€66,000) by sponsors Sasol and the South African Football Association for reaching their second successive Olympics.

“We felt like we were at the top of the world and just happy that we did not again have to go through the feeling we had after failing to qualify for the World Cup,” South Africa captain Janine van Wyk said.

“Now we want to do well at the Olympics and get out of the group stage.”