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According to a report, the coach of the Zambian women’s football team has been accused of sexual misconduct. Bruce Mwape, appointed in 2018, helped Zambia qualify for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in the country’s history but now finds his legacy and career in jeopardy following accusations which were disclosed to FIFA last year.
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) referred the investigation to football’s world governing body in September of last year. FIFA’s investigation is ongoing, and officials have declined to comment on the situation at the moment. The news comes as a shock to football fans in Zambia who have been otherwise delighted with the women’s team’s strong performance.
According to the Guardian report, Mwape would leverage his position as head coach to get sexual favours from players. The women found it difficult to reject the coach’s advances for fear that they would be dropped from the squad. Such was the extent of sexual misconduct within the team that an anonymous whistleblower described Mwape’s advances as ‘normal’ within the team. The report also alleges that the FAZ ignored complaints about Mwape’s predatory behaviour due to his success with the national team and the resulting reputation and support boost enjoyed by the FAZ.
“If he [Mwape] wants to sleep with someone, you have to say yes,” a whistleblower from the team told the Guardian. “It’s normal that the coach sleeps with the players in our team.” She also added, “they are being threatened with punitive action if they dare say anything about what happened.”
Second major scandal in Zambian women’s football shocks natio n
Mwape’s allegations come following similar allegations of sexual assault levelled at the women’s U-17 coach Kaluga Kangwa. The story sent shockwaves through Zambia as the true depth of abuse was revealed to the public.
Kangwa coached the women’s U-17s for nearly a decade and has been accused of systematically abusing dozens of underage girls sexually throughout the years with the help of other U-17 staff members. He is also accused of impregnating a 15-year-old girl, and for leveraging his social status to create a system of abuse which has lasted years without intervention by the FAZ.
