Former national team coach Tariq Lutfi and Kiran Ilyas, who became Pakistan’s first woman to pass the AFC ‘B’ Certificate Course last year, imparted training to the participants.
Nadia Bhatti, one of the participants who has also represented the Pakistan women’s football team at the national level, said a coaching course was the only way she could pursue a career in the sport.
“Our national team can’t do well unless we have good coaches,” Bhatti told The Express Tribune. “There’s no career for women footballers here. I’ve played football for more than five years and I don’t see much hope. I’d rather try coaching since it will give me an opportunity to do more.
“I’ll be qualified to coach club and provincial teams and then I can follow in Ilyas’ footsteps.”
Naila Rani, who has also played for the national team, echoed the same sentiments and said the two-week course will help her in becoming a coach for the Punjab team.
Meanwhile, Lutfi said that five out of the 18 women stood out while the rest still needed to work hard to make the cut and clear the course. “They might not be very talented players but that doesn’t mean they can’t be good coaches. After clearing this course, they can coach any team in Asia,” said Lutfi.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2012.
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