- Web Desk
- Oct 26, 2024
FIFA investigates Women’s World Cup coach for sexual assault
- Web Desk
- Aug 05, 2023
PARIS: Bruce Mwape, Zambia’s coach for the Women’s World Cup, is being investigated by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on allegations of sexual assault.
According to a report in The Guardian, FIFA received a complaint after Zambia’s historic victory over New Zealand on Monday.
Mwape was accused of rubbing his hands over the chest of one of his players two days before the victory. Several other players witnessed the incident.
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One of the players reportedly said, “it’s not appropriate for a coach to be touching a player’s breasts.”
Before the tournament began, The Guardian revealed that Mwape was the subject of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct. However, players were scared to report this new incident before the tournament for fear of not making the team.
They decided to wait until they were eliminated before filing the complaint. The team finished third in their group and was eliminated by Spain and Japan.
FIFA officials, meanwhile, stated that “FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident.”
“We can confirm that a complaint has been received in relation to the Zambian women’s national team and this is currently being investigated. We cannot provide further details regarding an ongoing investigation for obvious confidentiality reasons.”
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The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) claims they have not received any complaints about this latest allegation against Mwape. However, they said that if the allegations are true, actions will be taken against the accused. Previously, FAZ’s under-17 coach Kaluba Kangwa was also investigated for similar reasons.
Bruce Mwape has been the women’s national coach for Zambia since 2018, the same year the country qualified for the Cup.