Bruce Mwape is a Zambian football coach who is currently the head coach of the Zambia women's national football team.
 2023 as the coach of the national women's team | |||
| Managerial career | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | ||
| 2018– | Zambia (women's) | ||
Career
Mwape was appointed as head coach of the Zambia women's national team in May 2018 succeeding Albert Kachinga who returned to club football.[1]
He would lead the team in the 2018 Women's Africa Cup of Nations.[2] The Copper Queens was not able to advance out from the group stage.[3]
Zambia would qualify for the women's football tournament of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo which was later postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The did not manage to progress to the quarterfinals after losing two and drawing one of its three matches in the group stage.[5]
Mwape would coach the team again in the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations. This time the Zambians finished third place, their best ever finish in the continental tournament.[6] They also secured a berth in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup after they progressed to the semifinals – their first ever qualification.[7]
Controversies
In July 2023, ahead of the World Cup, allegations of sexual misconduct in 2022 against Mwape surfaced.[8] Mwape has denied the accusations.[9]
The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has expressed surprise at the misconduct claims against women's team head coach Bruce Mwape. The allegations, reported by The Guardian, accuse the coach of inappropriate behavior towards one of the players before Zambia's Women's World Cup match against Costa Rica. FIFA has confirmed that they are investigating the matter following a complaint. However, FAZ stated that they have not received any complaint from players or officials in their World Cup delegation and have no footage supporting the alleged misconduct.[10]
In May 2024, Mwape was again accused of sexual assault, this time on a FIFA employee during the World Cup.[11]
Honours
Zambia