Football: Long way still to go, says Kiran

Pakistan’s women football coach aims to make it big after passing AFC course.

KARACHI: Kiran Ilyas, who became the first Pakistani women to become a certified coach after passing a course with the Asian Football Confederation on Monday, has said that it was an honour for the country but ‘there is still a long way to go’.

Ilyas was chosen by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) to attend a workshop in Kuala Lumpur in July along with 24 other female coaches from different Asian countries. By the time, the workshop ended, only nine coaches survived and Ilyas was one of them.

“It’s an honour to be the first Pakistani woman to earn this certificate,” Illyas told The Express Tribune. “While it means that I can coach in any Asian country, it has also made me more confident.

“Now, I feel that there’s a career that lies ahead of me. I wasn’t taken seriously, but after this qualification, I feel it’s just the beginning.”

Illyas, who became the women’s national football team assistant coach during the Saff championship last year, could also replace Tariq Lutfi as the head coach, according to a PFF official.

“With this certificate, Ilyas can train the team on her own,” said the official.

While there seems to be a bright future for Ilyas, she feels that an increased number of female coaches will also promote football in the country among women.

“Right now parents hesitate in sending their daughters to the field,” said Ilyas. “This is because they can’t trust the male coaches. It’s natural and I can understand their fear.

“This is one of the reasons why I’ve taken this profession seriously. It will encourage the girls to play football,” said Illyas.

Illyas said that there were quite a few female coaches in Pakistan who have attended the AFC ‘C’ Coaching course and they had the potential to make it to the top.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th,  2011.