Former England manager to equip coaches
Football Association of Malawi (FAM), with support from Fifa has secured the services of former England international footballer and national team coach Hope Powell to drill local women football coaches in basic coaching skills.
FAM technical director John Kaputa said in an interview that the training, which is scheduled to take place from October 6 to 10 in Blantyre will target 30 coaches.
He said these coaches are drawn from teams that are actively participating in women football.
“We feel it is important to respond to the demand that the women football body asked us some time back. Our partner Fifa has come in and secured the services of international trainer former, England coach Powell, to guide the four day course,” said Kaputa.
He said the coaching course will have 10 coaches from each region being groomed or women football coaching basics.
“We are yet to reach good level in women football. This is an opportunity which will provide us a good forum to improve the status of our recognition in women football across the globe,” said Kaputa.
National Women Football Committee (NWFC) chairperson Severia Chalira thanked FAM for the initiative, saying the course will go a long way in increasing the number of skilled women football coaches.
“Currently, we only have five skilled women football coaches nationwide, but with the coming of this training, we expect the situation to improve and have more equipped women football coaches at each region,” said Chalira.
Powell once coached England women’s national football team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland women’s Olympic football team.
She has an ‘A’ Licence coach and in 2003, she became the first woman to achieve the Uefa Pro Licence, the highest coaching award available.
As a player, Powell won 66 caps for England, mainly as an attacking midfielder, scoring 35 goals. She made her England debut at the age of 16, and went on to play in the 1995 Fifa Women’s World Cup, England’s first World Cup appearance. She was also vice-captain of her country.
At club-level, she played for Millwall Lionesses for nine years and won the FA Women’s Cup twice, including a league and cup double as captain of Croydon in 1996.
