Coach faces jail term for fondling player’s breast at Women’s World Cup

Story from Christine TOBECHUKWU

Zambia’s head coach, Bruce Mwape, has been accused of sexual misconduct at the Women’s World Cup.

The Zambian coach is being accused of fondling the breast of one of his players two days before the country’s historic victory over Coasta Rica in their final match at the Women’s World Cup.

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FIFA, has now confirmed it received an official complaint about the alleged incident after Zambia claimed their first win at a World Cup on Monday in New Zealand.

FIFA is now investigating the official complaint against the Zambian head coach Bruce Mwape.

Witnesses said the coach was seen rubbing his hands over the chest of one of his players and pressing her breast during a training session in New Zealand on 29 July, 2023.

Before the tournament, the Guardian revealed Mwape was the subject of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

According to a source close to the squad, Mwape, rubbed his hands over the chest of one of their teammates on Friday after training.

“It’s not appropriate for a coach to be touching a player’s breast,” said the source.

It was gathered that the witnesses did not report the incident immediately but decided to wait until after their campaign had been completed over fears that they would not be selected for unsettling the team.

Zambia had already been eliminated after 5-0 defeats by Spain and Japan, but finished third in the group after the 3-1 victory over Costa Rica.

The allegation against Mwape was reported to a FIFA delegate, who has been with the squad throughout their stay in New Zealand.

President of the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), Andrew Kamanga, is believed to be aware of the incident.

The FAZ and Mwape did not respond to the Guardian’s questions. A FIFA spokesperson said.

“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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