FAZ president Kamanga officially opened the historic all-female CAF C licence course conducted by CAF Instructor Sheryl Botes.
And Botes says having more qualified women coaches will add to the already great things that were happening in the Zambian women game.
Addressing the 30 apprentice coaches, Kamanga said Zambia only had eight coaches with CAF C credentials which was a draw back given the nation’s football prowess.
“I am informed by the Technical Directorate that we only have eight female coaches with CAF licences in the country. with this course, if all the 30 participants meet the requirements by CAF, we will have 38 professional coaches,” Kamanga said.
“This is a milestone in the development of our women’s game.”
Kamanga said that the newly created FAZ Women’s Super League will benefit from more trained coaches.
“As you are aware, two years ago in 2020, we created the first ever FAZ Women’s National League with the aim of creating a more competitive league for the women. We believe that this will in turn provide us a platform for talent identification for the women’s national teams which have done tremendously well at major competitions, recent ones being qualifications to the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year, winning bronze at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) and a maiden qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2023,” he said.
Kamanga cautioned the participants against thinking that they will be competing for coaching jobs as women but as trained coaches who could match any gender.
And Botes said increasing the pool of qualified coaches will complement the strides that the Zambian women’s game was making.
Botes congratulated FAZ for turning around the fortunes of the women’s game.
FAZ, through the Technical Directorate secured a CAF C licence program exclusively for women.
Thirty lady coaches with the foundation FAZ E (previously FAZ D) are currently undergoing an intense training course that comprises the theory and practical component. The priority as per CAF requirement was towards active coaches.