The Ghana Football Association (GFA) has denied reports that Nora Hauptle has signed a two-year contract with Zambia to become the new Copper Queens coach.
The GFA’s Deputy Communications Director, Sheikh Tophic Sienu, has stated that Nora is still under contract, which will expire at the end of 2024; thus, the coach is still in charge of the team.
He also clarified that the Black Queens coach has not informed them of her intention to sign a contract with another women’s national team or leave her current position.
“The GFA has a contract with Nora, and it is still valid. The contract will end next year [2025]. Personally, I have not had interaction with Nora to tell me these things [being unhappy about friendly matches]. A post she made on LinkedIn justifies the fact that she is unhappy with preparations,” he told Max FM in an interview.
Nora And Ghana FA Situation
Hauptle reportedly refused to extend her contract with Ghana, citing a lack of friendly games for the team.
Amid the reports, she posted on LinkedIn, “I believe that success is built over continuous development steps of the performance.
“Providing as national team for our players as many high-performance game exposure as possible is key. Because through this game experiences, we can work, learn and grow as individual & team. The difference in the amount of games played in 2024 is huge between the participating teams of the WAFCON ’24 (which will be held in July 2025).”
However, Tophic Sienu explained that the Black Queens’ friendly matches were cancelled due to a lack of funds.
“The FA pays her salary, provides accommodation, traveling allowances, and buys her ticket to monitor players. We needed $40,000 to play the friendly matches against Tunisia and Senegal, but the FA did not have the financial power to do so. Every money that comes from FIFA has to be used for a particular purpose, and at that moment, there was no cash,” he explained.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) executive committee held its annual meeting last week. Nora was mentioned as a possible successor to Mwape.
According to BolaNews sources, talks between Nora and FAZ are still in the early stages, with nothing concrete yet.
Commenting on the situation, FAZ’s general secretary Rueben Kamanga told ZANIS that Mwape remains the coach and that if anything changes, the public will be notified.
