FIFA is investigating an official complaint saying Zambia head coach, Bruce Mwape had sexually assaulted a player at the Women’s World Cup.
Mwape is accused of rubbing his hands over the chest of one of his players after a training session in New Zealand on 29th July. rubbing a player’s breasts after a training session.
“We can confirm that a complaint has been received in relation to the Zambian women’s national team and this is currently being investigated,” a FIFA spokesperson said, without specifying the nature of the complaint.
“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.”
But the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) said it had “not received any such complaint.” FAZ added that all the training sessions for the Copper Queens had been filmed by their media team, saying there was no footage as such to prove the claims.
Zambia have meanwhile returned home, having been eliminated after finishing third in Group C. Mwape, who has been the head coach of Zambia’s women’s team since May 2018, faced allegations of sexual misconduct before the World Cup.
IZambia’s women’s football set-up has indeed been plagued by allegations of improper conduct. When reports of misbehaviour surfaced online last year, the FAZ opened an investigation.
It is not clear what the probe found, or whether any action was taken.
At press conferences during the World Cup, Mwape was repeatedly asked about the allegations, which he called “fake” while dismissing suggestions he should resign.
“What are you talking about? I would like to know because there is no way I can retire without reason” he told reporters.
“Maybe your reason is because of what you are reading from the media or the press, but the truth of the matter should actually come out, not just on rumours.”
New Zealand Police said they “were made aware of an alleged incident” during the World Cup but after initial enquiries decided “no further action was required to be taken”.
Despite police and FIFA involvement, the Football Association of Zambia denied knowledge of any recent complaint from players or its travelling delegation.
The organisation said in a statement that it had “come as a surprise for us to hear of such alleged misconduct by the coach”, adding that it had demanded “the highest standards of integrity and transparency” from players and staff.
The football association also said all training sessions had been filmed by its media team and a FIFA crew, and it had seen no evidence of any incident.
It added that it would take disciplinary action “once we are in receipt of an official complaint or presented with evidence”.
Eighteen-Eleven Media