FIFA has selected 47 talented female coaches from 27 member associations to benefit from a scholarship, as part of its Coach Education Scholarship programme, designed to increase the number of female coaches working in football.
But no Nigerian coach has shown interest in the scholarship opportunity.
Aligned with Goal No. 8 in FIFA’s The Vision: 2020-2023 (Accelerate the Growth of women’s football) the overall project is one of FIFA’s eight women’s development programmes, seeking to offer talented female coaches and/or players financial support to further their coaching education, along with career development mentoring, and networking opportunities.
This week, the FIFA Women’s Football Division launched the online mentoring element of the programme, which saw scholarship recipients paired up with experienced coaches from the women’s game.
Former Canadian national team player Carmelina Moscato, who benefitted in the past from a Coach Education Scholarship, praised the impact it had on her coaching career: “Receiving a FIFA Coach Education Scholarship genuinely changed my life,” she said. “This opportunity afforded me the means to get an education that propelled my dreams of coaching to another level.
“Not only did I learn from unbelievable instructors, but the candidates on the course were also a source of knowledge for me. I left this experience enriched, more competent and having made lifelong friends in the game.”
Receiving a FIFA Coach Education Scholarship genuinely changed my life. This opportunity afforded me the means to get an education that propelled my dreams of coaching to another level.”
To apply to the FIFA Coach Education Scholarship programme, candidates must hold a ‘C’ coaching licence or higher and be actively coaching a team in a competition. The objectives are to:
educate and inspire female players and coaches to ensure long careers.
create easier pathways for players to gain qualifications and increase their opportunities to obtain employment in coaching.
increase the number of qualified female coaches working in the game.
The current participants represent all six FIFA confederations:
Sharna Naidu (Australia); Eilidh Mackay (Australia); Victoria Guzman (Australia); Mahmuda Akter (Bangladesh); Iris Centeno (Belize); Véronique Yonli (Burkina Faso); Yali Meng (China); Angie Veronica Vega (Colombia); Sandra Salamanca (Colombia); Ana Cordoba (Costa Rica); Anja Heiner-Moller (Denmark); Jeny Herrera (Ecuador); Mabel Velarde Coba (Ecuador); Eydvor Jakobsen (Faroe Islands); Elina Kuronen (Finland); Saija Lehtimaki (Finland); Teija Niemela (Finland); Kyra Densing (Germany); Durva Vahia (India); Amoolya Kamal (India); Khoze Hameed Abdullah (Iraq); Toni Cowan (Jamaica); Aseel Albarbarawi (Jordan); Minjung Kang (Korea Republic); Juhee Song (Korea Republic); Hanan Ghunaim Oqab Al Rashed (Kuwait); Beldine Odemba (Kenya); Chiara Kaya (Netherlands); Annemein Van Seijst (Netherlands); Bianca Koppers (Netherlands); Kim Broers (Netherlands); Niekie Pellens (Netherlands); Felicienne Minnaar (Netherlands); Sandra Van Tol (Netherlands); Stefanie van der Gragt (Netherlands); Mandy van den Berg (Netherlands); Tessa Nicol (New Zealand); Alana Gunn (New Zealand); Annalie Longo (New Zealand); Margaret Aka (Papua New Guinea); Julie McSherry (Scotland); Cheewathan Krueawan (Thailand); Bulega Faridah (Uganda); Twila Kaufman Kilgore (USA); Natalia Astrain (USA); Tracey Kevins (USA); Karima Yuldasheva (Uzbekistan).
The application process for Coach Education Scholarships remains open.
