Jacky Shipanga resigns

Jacky Shipanga has been in charge of women's football for years but ended the tenure with the Brave Gladiators, opting to take up the role as general manager of the Women's Football Desk instead.Shipanga's post as coach of the national women's team will be taken over by Brian Isaacs.Isaacs took over Shipanga's duties as interim coach earlier in the month in preparation of the 2017 Women's Cosafa Championship which the Gladiators will take part in starting next month. The championship will be the biggest yet, with 12 nations set to compete for regional honours at the finals in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.Shipanga said her decision to resign was not forced, but was aided by the fact that she knew when it is time to hand over the baton. “Women's football has grown since its beginnings in 2007 and that development is attributed to Shipanga's efforts to push the women's game forward despite it being viewed as a men's sport,” she said. She recalled how they did not have an office but operated from university rooms in the beginning.“People found it weird when they heard about women football administrators, coaches and executives, but this has changed,” she said.She further said that the NFA is now running a girls' centre and that the next person to take up leadership should groom and take care of the female footballers, run the Women's Super League, scout and mentor upcoming young coaches.“It is a lot for one person to handle and though we at NFA might save on a pay cheque in the short term, it is not in the best interest of women's football in the long run to have one person carrying out all these important aspects,” she said.“Let us take women's football to the next level, make it more competitive and inclusive and for that to happen we need to invest and grow in human resources as well as to establish corporate relations and to strengthen existing relationships with stakeholders such as Unicef, GIZ, DFP and Scorpion Zinc.”The outgoing coach thanked FIFA for its support and development of women football, as well as Julien Garises and Jacky Gertze from the Women's Desk for their constant support.“I would not have been appointed in this role if it was not for the role FIFA played in mentoring and exposing me to various learning opportunities. Their opportunities enabled me to use the expertise and teachings to improve conditions of women's football in the country and Africa at large,” Shipanga said.LIMBA MUPETAMI

Jacky Shipanga resigns

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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Jacky Shipanga resigns

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Namibian Sun 2025-06-18

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