Fifa to mentor Chombo-Sadik
Malawi Under-20 Women’s Football Team coach Maggie Chombo-Sadik will undergo a Fifa coach mentorship programme designed to help female coaches acquire new knowledge, skills and experience to harness their careers.
Chombo-Sadik and 21 other coaches selected for the exercise will for the next 18 months be individually mentored by a top coach.
Fifa member associations were asked to submit names before the November 30 deadline.
Football Association of Malawi (FAM) general secretary Alfred Gunda confirmed in an interview yesterday that the association nominated Chombo-Sadik for the programme.
He said: “She was picked because of her experience and qualifications in women’s football.
“Fifa was looking at a female active coach with CAF A licence and a national football team coach.”
A holder of Confederation of African Football (CAF) A licence, Chombo-Sadik is one of Malawi women’s football’s career coaches having started playing the game back in 1999.
She now owns Blantyre Zero, one of the country’s women’s football teams.
Chombo-Sadik was not available for comment as she is attending another Fifa workshop on coach educators in Blantyre.
But a statement from Fifa says the programme, launched in 2018, is part of Fifa’s commitment to increase the opportunities that exist within football for female coaches.
Fifa chief women’s football officer Sarai Bareman said: “Developing and identifying new pathways for female coaches is a key part of Fifa’s ongoing work and commitment to accelerate the development of women’s football over the next few years.
“Following the success of the first edition, we are delighted that coach mentorship has now opened its application process for 2021/2022.
“We look forward to welcoming a new class of mentors and mentees over the coming months and helping to develop a new generation of talented coaches in the women’s game.”
There are 17 mentors, including coaches who have won the Fifa Women’s World Cup and been named Best Fifa Women’s Coach, lined up to guide the 21 mentees throughout the programme.
The mentors and mentees will have meetings over Skype and face-to-face.
Fifa says the initial in-person meeting, where feasible, will be hosted by the mentee.
The second visit will, where possible, then be hosted by the mentor and any further meetings at a location agreed upon by both the mentor and mentee.
