Zambia’s Copper Queens won the 2024 COSAFA Women’s Championship with a penalty shootout victory over South Africa’s Banyana Banyana on November 2, 2024, making Florence Mwila the first female Zambian coach to win an international trophy in history.
Assisted by Enala Phiri and William Zulu during the tournament, Mwila was standing in for Bruce Mwape, who had been excused from the tournament. Her primary goal was to discover new talent that could be promoted to the main Copper Queens squad, as she selected the majority of debutants with the likes of Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji not part of the team.
“It’s been a great experience for me as a coach, for the technical bench, and for the girls, especially the girls that are coming [to the national team] for the first time. They put in there all, and they fought till the end, and here it has paid off,” Mwila said after the victory.
Despite the fact that there is a rise in the number of women’s coaches in Africa, Mwila stated that women are frequently misjudged and underestimated even before taking on coaching responsibilities, but she is pleased that the narrative is gradually shifting.
“You know, sometimes people always judge you for whatever reason. But I don’t like that. So this is a special topic to me as an individual. It shows me how I’ve grown as a coach when I look back on how I started in this coaching career. So this project shows how much work I’ve put in as an individual, and it is pushing me to even push for more going forward,” she told SportsBoom.com.
Mwila on the future of Women’s coaches
Mwila, a holder of a CAF B coach, believes that the misconception that women solely belong in the kitchen must be dispelled. She encouraged more women to take up the challenge and pursue a coaching career, as the future seems promising.
“The future for women’s coaches is very bright. Everyone must believe that they’re able to achieve; you know, we are working in a male-dominated sport, but the best is to learn from the men themselves and better [not limiting ourselves].”
Mwila encourages African football associations to provide female coaches with additional skills by sending them back to school to earn further coaching badges, especially as the world becomes more sophisticated due to advancements in technology, including in sports.
“I believe that more women should be assisted in developing additional coaching skills and approaches. We also need assistance in improving our coaching qualifications by taking us to school.
Mwila’s accomplishment came just weeks after Carol Kanyemba achieved history as the first female Zambian coach at any age level FIFA World Cup, leading the Copper Princesses to the 2024 Dominican Republic FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where she was unable to advance past the group stage.
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