‘They should not kill their dreams’- Jackline Juma’s inspiring message to young girls looking to break gender barriers
Jackline Juma Photo: Mozzart Sport
FC Talanta head coach Jackline Juma, the first woman to coach a men’s team in Kenya’s top-flight league, overcame initial doubts to gain support, inspiring young women to pursue their dreams in sports.
Jackline Juma made history as the first woman to coach a men’s team in Kenya’s top-flight league, FC Talanta and she has opened up about how she manages some of the challenges she has faced thus far.
Jackline Juma was appointed coach of FC Talanta in August this year and thus far, things have been looking up for her. In an interview with BBC News Africa, the tactician explained that she wants women to know that they can be anything as long as they put in the work.
Juma added that it has not been a walk in the pack as she has experienced people who doubted her abilities with other teams asking her players if they were sure they would manage to win matches with a female coach.
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“For the young girls out there, I think they should chase their dreams…they will experience a lot of challenges but they should not kill their dreams. I want to inspire a lot of upcoming female coaches and I need them to have confidence that they can do it. They need to understand that gender should not be a barrier,” Jackline Juma said.
“I want to show them that it’s very much possible and they have to believe in themselves, have confidence and get the necessary courses and when they get an opportunity, they should make good use of it.
“I did not see myself coaching in the men’s premier league side but as time went by when I was getting this knowledge, and taking those courses, I thought of trying and coach a men’s team. I was not sure that I could coach a men’s premier league side.”
Jackline Juma pointed out that upon her appointment as head coach, there were many questions surrounding her ability to coach a premier league men’s side and the management wanted to see how she could fair on, supporting her halfway.
Although, after a few matches with FC Talanta showing much-needed progress, Jackline Juma was considered a great coach for the club and the management now went in to support her fully. She added that men and women deserve equal pay since they all play 90 minutes in a game and basically do the same things during the matches.
“At first, they were sceptical about it and wondered whether I could handle that pressure and of course, they were also concerned about the negative critiques from other people. After a few matches, they started supporting me fully and that’s when things picked,” Juma said.
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