๐‰๐”๐๐€, ๐’๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐’๐ฎ๐๐š๐ง | ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“๐ญ๐ก ๐€๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” โ€” The South Sudan Football Federation (SSFF) has officially kicked off a historic 10-day Confederation of African Football (CAF) โ€˜Dโ€™ License coaching course in Juba under the theme: โ€œEmpowering Women to Lead, Coach and Transform the Game,โ€ dedicated to training and empowering female football coaches across the country.

โ€‹The fully-funded initiative marks a landmark moment for womenโ€™s sports in South Sudan, bringing together over 30 female participants to build a strong foundation for the future of domestic womenโ€™s football.

๐๐ž๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐€๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐€๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: ๐Œ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐’๐ฉ๐ž๐œ๐ข๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง

Speaking at the opening ceremony, SSFF President,ย  Mr. Francis Amin Michael urged participants to maximize the fully sponsored trainingโ€”not just as a quota accomplishment, but as a gateway to merit-based professional excellence.

Participants were encouraged to look beyond traditional head coaching roles and explore specialized technical pathways, including fitness coaching, goalkeeper instruction, and leading top-tier menโ€™s clubs.

โ€‹๐ƒ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐†๐ž๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ ๐๐š๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐œ๐š๐ฅ ๐„๐ฑ๐œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง๐œ๐ž

Organized to address the historical underrepresentation of women on football technical benches, the program provides essential foundational training recognized by CAF. With the SSFF preparing to launch five female competitions this year, the demand for certified female coaches has reached a critical milestone.

โ€‹Mr. Abdallah Abdu Addallah, the SSFF Competition Committee highlighted the direct link between quality coaching and national football success:

Coaching is one of the fundamental pillars of football development. If we have good coaches, we will produce good players, build stronger teams, and ultimately field competitive national squads on the CAF and FIFA stages.โ€

Mrs. Gabrielle Thomas, Deputy Chairperson of the SSFA Womenโ€™s Football Committee, praised the South Sudan Football Association for launching its recent coaching initiative, calling it a major milestone for the future of the sport.

โ€‹She emphasized that high-level coaching courses are vital to elevating the quality and standard of womenโ€™s football nationwide, urging participants to approach the training with total seriousness and focus.

โ€‹Gabrielle encouraged trainees to bring their newly gained skills, tactics, and confidence directly back to their respective clubs.

โ€‹ ๐Š๐ž๐ฒ ๐‡๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ˆ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž:โ€‹

10-Day Intensive Training: Covers CAF-prescribed fundamentals of modern coaching, grassroots player development, and safeguarding.

โ€‹Pathway to CAF โ€˜Cโ€™ License: Participants will undertake one year of practical coaching at the club or grassroots level before qualifying for advanced licensing.

โ€‹Fully Sponsored Access: To reduce barriers to entry, the course is offered free of charge to all selected candidates.

โ€‹High Performance Benchmark: Federation officials set an ambitious target, aiming for an 80%+ pass and success rate for the graduating cohort.

โ€‹Pointing to trailblazers like National Team staff members and Performance Analyst Peace, the SSFF encouraged the participants to embrace continuous self-education and help reshape the future of South Sudanese sports.