FIFA investigates Zambia coach for sexual abuse during Women's World Cup match

This is not the first time the Zambian national team coach has been accused of sexual abuse. Even before reaching the World Cup, the team was already involved in a series of complaints related to the coach's questionable conduct.

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The coach of the Zambian national team became the target of an investigation by FIFA - Photo Reproduction/FIFA

FIFA is leading an investigation into the coach of the Zambia national team, Bruce Mwape, after receiving allegations of sexual abuse involving a female player during the Women's World Cup. According to the information, Mwape would have made inappropriate touches on the chest of one of his players, which occurred two days before his country's victory over Costa Rica in the tournament.

Complaint

Fifa confirmed that an investigation is ongoing about the "misconduct" of a Zambian member. After the conquest of the first victory of the African team in a World Cup, on Monday, in New Zealand, the entity received an official complaint regarding the incident. According to a source close to the team, several players testified to giving it to him inappropriately touching the chest from one of her colleagues after training last Friday. The source also stated that it is not appropriate for a coach to have this type of behavior with a player.

It is worth noting that prior to the tournament, the coach had already been the subject of an investigation related to allegations of sexual misconduct. The news was initially reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.

"We can confirm that there is a complaint in relation to the Zambia national team and that it is being investigated. We cannot provide further details about an ongoing investigation for obvious reasons of confidentiality," the football governing body said in a statement, adding, " FIFA takes any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident."

The allegation against Mwape is believed to have been reported to a FIFA delegate, lodged during the team's stay in New Zealand. There are suspicions that Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) President Andrew Kamanga is aware of the incident.

witnesses

During the Worlds, the witnesses involved in the incident considered reporting the incident immediately, but chose to wait until the team's participation in the tournament came to an end, fearing it would hurt the team's performance. After a sequence of 5-0 losses to Spain and Japan, the team said goodbye to the tournament, even winning the match 3-1 against Costa Rica on Monday, the African team finished third in Group C.

FIFA provides support and assistance to ensure the safety of those who report a safeguard issue, including witnesses who come forward and give evidence in FIFA Ethics cases (...). Where guilt is established, FIFA applies the severest possible sanctions, including removing persons from the game for life. Our history demonstrates this" ends the entity's note, informing that it treats the matter with caution.

Zambia Football Association

Reuben Kamanga, secretary general of FAZ, said this Friday (04) in a statement that So far, the agency has not received any complaints. by the players or members of the delegation who took part in the trip to the World Cup. In light of this, news about the coach's alleged misconduct came as a complete surprise to them.

“In fact, all of the training sessions for Copper Queens were filmed by the FAZ media team. In addition, a FIFA film crew linked to the Zambia World Cup team was present at all training sessions,” said the Secretary General, adding, “However, we wish to assure the public that the FAZ maintains the highest standards of integrity and transparency and always demands unwavering ethical conduct from players and referees on and off the field of play. Therefore, we will not hesitate to take disciplinary action and act on any misconduct as soon as we receive an official complaint or when evidence relating to an alleged incident is presented.”

history of accusations

It is not the first accusation of sexual abuse involving the coach of the Zambia national team. Even before reaching the World Cup, the team was already surrounded by a series of complaints relating to the coach's questionable conduct. Mwape took office in May 2018 and was instrumental in Zambia's qualification to the World Cup, won in September 2022.

At the time, the FAZ took the initiative to forward an investigation to FIFA, regarding the accusation of sexual abuse in women's football. That accusation involved both Mwape and under-17 coach Kaluba Kangwa. It is important to note that, despite Kangwa's removal from office, the FAZ has not yet made any official announcement regarding this measure. As reported in The Guardian, the Zambian women's national team players also face threats of punishment if they decide to speak out about the case.

This situation raises concerns about the attitude of the country's federation, which seems to have ignored the events, possibly due to the excellent results obtained by the women's team in competitions. The problem reached such a point that it led the president of the FAZ to previously declare that the case was under the responsibility of the police authorities and FIFA, in order to avoid the interruption of partiality on the part of the federation in relation to the matter.