2023 WWC: Zambia coach under investigation for alleged sexual assault

FIFA has initiated an investigation into the conduct of Zambia women’s national team head coach, Bruce Mwape, during the 2023 Women’s World Cup. The investigation comes in response to accusations of sexual abuse made against Mwape by one of his players.

According to reports from The Guardian, the alleged incident occurred two days prior to Zambia’s last group game against Costa Rica. It is claimed that Mwape was accused of inappropriately touching the player’s chest.

In response to the serious allegations, a FIFA spokesperson informed ESPN that they take any such misconduct claims very seriously and are following their established procedures to handle the matter. The spokesperson stated, “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.”

The investigation is currently underway, and FIFA has maintained confidentiality regarding the details of the ongoing inquiry.

Despite the unsettling situation, the Shepolopolo, as the Zambia women’s national team is known, continued their campaign at the Women’s World Cup but, unfortunately, were unable to progress beyond the group stage. The team suffered defeats to Japan and Spain but managed a victory against Costa Rica in their final group game.