Women coaches enhance sports medicine skills in CAF course
Female football coaches are expanding their expertise beyond traditional tactics through a sports medicine module within the ongoing All-Women CAF C Coaching Course at Zifa Village in Harare. This second module, backed by FIFA to increase the number of qualified female coaches, emphasizes player health, welfare, and performance. Sports medicine specialist Dr. Margaret Maulana is leading sessions on exercise health, nutrition, hydration, common football injuries, injury prevention, doping control, and mental health. A key focus is on female health and performance, educating coaches on physiological factors affecting female players' health, wellbeing, training, and performance. Dr. Maulana highlighted that coaching involves understanding player health as it directly impacts performance, especially for female players. She stated that knowledgeable coaches in areas like nutrition, hydration, injury prevention, and mental health can create safer environments for player development. This sports medicine component is part of a broader curriculum designed to produce well-rounded coaches for modern football. The program also aims to strengthen Zimbabwe’s female coaching pathway by providing access to recognized CAF qualifications and creating more technical roles for women. Zifa seeks to build a larger pool of qualified female coaches to develop future players and enhance women's football.
