Ugochi Nwachi is embracing the challenge that comes with being a female coach in the Nigeria football grassroots set-up as she looks to take talented youngsters off the street and develop them to the highest pinnacle of their careers.
Read Also: 2023/2024 NNL Season: Gateway United Will Return To Top-flight Football – Samson Omiponle
The veteran coach who is versatile in different aspects of football can officiate games boasting a professional career with spells with Delta Queens, Ekueme Queens, and also a handful of teams in Lagos, Sports247.ng writes.
“When I was advancing, getting older, I decided to give it a break and I went fully into officiating, and from there, I moved full time into coaching and that’s where the idea came from”, she began as she talked about her ordeal.
“I haven’t gone for NIS but I have participated in some courses like FCAN and right now, I’m a grassroots coach with ‘All Talented Stars'”.
“It’s not easy because you know as a female coach, sometimes you feel as if people are looking down on you but I think because of the passion, I’m still moving on,” she added.
“I have worked with several teams established by others but mine is just a year old. While I was thinking about the idea of going into coaching, my headmaster discovered me in Primary 3 and they advised my parent to give me the chance but they didn’t give me the chance so I ran away”.
“I passed through a lot because it wasn’t easy playing football without someone looking out for you, my parents didn’t attend any of my games and when I was able to get that stability in my career, I played professionally and after a while, I pursued coaching”.
“This is to give hope to people that are like me then and that’s why I decided to go into grassroots”.
“Those ones that have a career but because of where they are coming from, the career is somehow buried so I decided to go into the street, pick them, and nurture them so that they can achieve their dreams”, she concluded.
