African Sports Monthly International Women's Day Special Edition | Page 30

S

occer is a sport that has been dominated by
men since it became an accepted and
widely played sport around the world. The
culture is so macho that it took close to a century
since the first World Cup (in 1932) for women
to play a significant role in
an Association as
its head. Africa
was the first to
break ground with the
election of Burundi’s Lydia Nsekera followed a few
years later with Isha Johansen in Sierra Leone.
This pioneering spirit has given rise
to a number of women around the
world who are taking the bull by the
horns and stepping up to initiate ventures
in various aspects of the game and that is how
we came to know of Adama Kuyateh.

“I felt dejected but told myself that this
is just the beginning because now I have
something to prove and not ever be
turned down again”

Adama is one of the first women in the world to
operate her own Soccer Academy which she
started in the USA, but before Adama came to
open the doors of her academy she was a player
and eventually a coach. She has been around the
game for a while and knows what to expect. She is
fortunate to have started her project at the right
time for women in the sport, as FIFA; the world’s
governing body of the sport has shown a lot of
interests lately in having more women involved in
the game.
Ever since the election of the two African women
FA chiefs the world has sat up and noticed how
important this is for the future of the sport. So by
starting her own Academy, Adama will in essence