Copper Queens coach Bruce Mwape’s efforts have been lauded.
FAZ President Andrew Kamanga has retaliated that Mwape should be applauded for turning the fortunes of the Copper Queens.
Since he took over, Mwape has guided Zambia to all the major tournaments – three Women African Cup of Nations (2018, 2022, 2024 ), two Olympics (2020, 2024) and a Women’s World Cup (2023).
In addition, the former Roan United coach has led the Copper Queens to Cosafa Cup success.
No coach in Africa has achieved what Mwape has done.
“In 2018 we took a decision to bring Bruce Mwape as a coach for the Copper Queens and that was a turning point for our women’s football because he qualified the team for the WAFCON in 2018, 2022 and 2024,” he said.
“In between he qualified the team to the Olympic in 2020 which were played in 2021 because of Covid and recently he has qualified the team to the WAFCON as well as the Olympics.”
Currently the Copper Queens boast of the two most expensive women footballers in the world; Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji.
He said that the success story around the Copper Queens had also bred some negative energy that FAZ was working hard to stem through working with FIFA and law enforcement agencies.
“The success story has really been written by Bruce, of course with a lot of controversy, of course as is the case, where there is always success there has to be negativity around it.”
Kamanga said FAZ had engaged law enforcement agencies to dig up the allegations in the women’s game but nothing concrete had come up so far.
“We have had those allegations so many times, in fact two years ago we had to involve the police, as you know sexual harassment is actually a criminal offence, it is not even a football issue,” he said.
“So the police did their investigations and to date there has never been any follow up of whether those allegations have been validated or not. They keep coming up even at the last world cup, there were allegations which were even taken over by FIFA up to this time nothing has come. Just last week there was another article which seems to suggest that something happened and they referring to what had happened at the world cup, in fact the police in New Zealand even issued a statement that there was nothing.”
He said, “We have taken a lot of support from FIFA with the safeguarding, there is a certain minimum standard you have to maintain and those we continue to implement in terms of ensuring that the environment where the players are there is protection, whistleblowing is allowed.”
[ZamFoot/FAZ]
