Investigation: Sad! How Coaches Sexually Abuse Female Footballers

Editor’s Note: Naij.com’s Aderonke Bello draws attention to the widespread, but rarely talked about tendency of male Nigerian football coaches who sexually harass, abuse and traumatise their female players. She has talked to the victims of such offences to highlight their silent agony, as measures to rescue them from the fangs of bad coaches preying on them are yet to be taken.

A player lost her womb

At age 19, when Hauwa Mamza decided to pursue a career in football, she never thought sex was part of the bargain.

Her idea was to earn a jersey at community football level, and by hard work rise to the professional level. And that was why she went on trial at Antua Football Club, an amateur women’s team from Bauchi, north-east Nigeria.

When she displayed extraordinary ball skills barely a week after she joined the club, the coach, Dahiru Mustapha, became attracted to her, for the wrong reasons.

“When I arrived Bauchi, I trained with the other girls for about six days,” said Ms Mamza. “After training, the coach said he liked me and would love to date me. I said no and he threatened he would never select me to play in any major match the team would play.”

True to his threat, the coach never allowed her to feature in any serious matches even when she outperformed the other girls.

Unable to bear the maltreatment and harassment from the coach, Ms Mamza said she gave in to Dahiru’s demands and started having sex with him.

Hauwa holding a football. Credit: Naij.com Media

According to her, it was after Dahiru started having regular bouts of sex with her that she was picked to play in major games.

But most of the sex she had was unprotected, as the coach would not yield to her requests to use a condom.

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“I was happy to be back to the field but I was sad I had to do so at the expense of my pride as a woman,” Ms. Mamza said.

To free herself from the sex-for-jersey ordeal, she trained long and hard hoping she would soon earn a place in one of the major clubs in the country. Alas, this never happened.

The abuse led to an unwanted pregnancy which she had to terminate by taking drugs prescribed to her by a local pharmacy: the beginning of a journey to a damaged womb.

“I was training long and hard not knowing I was pregnant,” she told Naij.com.

“A drug and drink that I took didn’t work, so I went for D and C and it destroyed my womb. I took ill. With shame, I went back home to my mother. Up till date no man is ready to marry me,” she added, sobbing profusely.

Sexual abuse in female football teams

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has three female national teams: the Under-17, Under-20 and the senior national team, also known as the Super Falcons. However, all the women’s football league clubs are under the administration of the NFF.

When Naij.com spoke to some players about their experience, Joyce Henry, a Makurdi-based player, said she was also harassed: “You see, sincerely, I cannot give you much details, it’s been a long time now, but the coach, a married man, slept with me o, and even with some other girls before he took us to competitions. If you say no to him, he will not carry you with him or register your name, it is not a new thing,” she said.

On the contrary, and out of desperation, some players voluntarily slept with their coaches and even seduced them in return for a place in the team.

“Don’t mind them, some players cheaply throw themselves at the coaches so they can make the national team list or be listed as a player in a club. I don’t know about the other football clubs. Don’t mind them; after they have offered themselves to the coaches they will now be shouting harassment,” a top official of the NFF said.

“At the end of the day, when they couldn’t make the team, they will start to shout. Didn’t one of the Falcons goalkeeper date a board member?” the source, who asked for anonymity, asked.

Player’s gory experience and trauma

On a fateful Tuesday morning, after Sallah celebrations in Kano, Hauwa bid her mother goodbye. She left for Bauchi. Meanwhile, a man named Alhaji Shuaibu had asked for her hand in marriage. It may have been a possibility if her father was alive, but he had died of tuberculosis five years before.

She refused to marry Alhaji because coach Dahiru had promised to either take her to the national team or to Europe to get a good club in search of greener pastures so she could help her poor family.

The pregnancy which was discovered at the thirteenth week could not be terminated. She self-medicated, took typhoid and malaria tablets, hoping it was another form of the illness. Another test revealed the pregnancy was intact.

She menstruated for only two days in each of those months and never saw it as a big deal. Coach Dahiru became violent on hearing about the pregnancy and asked her to sort it out. She was left out of training and unable to play, was left with faded hopes.

“He shouted and screamed at me, he slapped me, called me names, and said: ‘Are you a baby, are you not mature enough to know how not to get pregnant, how to take care of yourself?’” she said.

By this time, it was too late. The coach did not want her and she could not go back home to her poor mother who was expecting her to bring money to the house. She searched for a doctor but could not get anyone nearby. Broke, weak and pale-looking, she travelled to another town to get it done. The man who had a small bed in his pharmacy performed dilation and curettage on her, and once again it was not properly done.

A few days after the procedure, she started bleeding heavily. Some of her teammates gave her money to travel to Kano for treatment. Her coach told her that she should come back when she was better, but, sadly, she never went back.

On getting to Kano her kinsmen rallied round her, and she was admitted to hospital. There it was found that her womb had ruptured and it had to be removed.

“My world came to an end right in front of me when the doctor said my womb will go off. I couldn’t believe my ears, although I don’t have much knowledge, but the fear of something leaving my body alone was much,” Hauwa explained.

“I cried and cried. It took me about three months to fully recover, in pain and sadness. I became a laughing stock in the community and I stopped going out. I stayed indoors for months and thanks to the Alhaji who helped me, today I am making money from the sale of fabrics. I have a small stall in Kano,” she added.

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Previous cases of assault

A former Super Falcons coach, the late Effiom Ntiero, married one of his players.

A former assistant director of women’s football at the NFF, James Peters, was accused of sexual harassment by different players, a claim that he acknowledged but denied vehemently. He told Naij.com that it was a false accusation:

“Yes, it is true some players accused me of sexual harassment, but they are false accusations, not true.”

However, many reported cases have been swept under the carpet as few people are interested in women’s football.

“So many of them remain unreported as it is obvious some players would not want to come out for the fear of stigmatization and victimization. I was a victim, and it is happening to almost all of us,” said a player at River Angels FC, who asked for anonymity.

“I dropped out of secondary school at SS3 because my parents doesn’t have money to pay for my NECO and WAEC. Before then I play football, we bet and whoever wins takes the money, and a man discovered me during one of our matches and introduced me to coach Habib. I don’t know his full name. I joined his team in Keffi [Nasarawa state],” another victim Kemi (not her real name) narrated.

“This man will come and touch my breast, hit my buttocks, and tried to kiss me, he was even sleeping with some girls in the team that time. I slapped him one day; still, he won’t leave me alone, so I decided to leave, now I’m in a better place.”

What the law says

Unfortunately, there is no law in the statutes of the NFF to guide against sexual abuse.

“I personally have been harassed by coaches, even the assistant coach of Rivers Angels disturbed me a lot — рe doesn’t even want to hear my name anywhere, — and so many other coaches, even one in Nasarawa Babes. Who do we report to? Nobody. If you voice out, they will call you names instead of punishing the coaches, so I am silent and will face my football,” a player of Osun Babes FC, who pleaded anonymity, complained.

However, Musa Amadu, who was the secretary general to the NFF during this investigation, said, any aggrieved female player should file a petition: “Any aggrieved party should file a petition, there is a disciplinary committee who will investigate and look into any form of accusation.”

NFF reacts

The NFF, which administers Nigerian football, said it was not aware of the problem and that any aggrieved player should speak out.

The former general secretary Musa Amadu also said there is no such thing as sexual harassment as far as he is concerned because no one has said anything: “I don’t know any of such in the football teams. Let the victims come out then we will investigate and treat accordingly,” he told Naij.com.

The secretary to the Nigeria Women’s Football League at the time of the investigation, Isaac Ajisafe, also said that he was not aware of any such thing in the football clubs:

“I don’t believe in rumours please. You people should stop listening to issues like this and stop saying unnecessary things. I deal with team managers not players, and no one has made any case regarding sexual assault. I am not aware of anything,” he said.

The chairman of the Nigerian Coaches Association, Bitrus Bewarang, confirmed some allegations but said lack of evidence is killing them:

“I have been hearing about it [sexual assaults], but with no concrete evidence to hold onto to punish them. If you can help us, it is something that is not tolerated.

“I am interested in it you know, the kind of integrity I want to bring to football fraternity. If there is any concrete evidence we won’t take it lightly: the congress approved that coaching license will be revoked from any culprit,” he explained to Naij.com.

Nigerians condemn

A female football activist and coordinator of the Save Our Female Football advocacy, Moses Bako, condemned the alleged sexual assaults, and said most of the girls are afraid to tell of their experiences:

“It is so sad some of these girls don’t actually speak out because of situation surrounding them. They will not do anything about it. We have spoken against it and asked the victims to come out and name names. This can have serious effect on them, looking at the fact that some of them are not regularly paid. We condemn it and we will roll out some programmes to speak against the issue and reach out to the coaches,” he said.

A human rights activist and lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, also condemned the alleged assaults and called on the government to make a law against inducements:

“The question here is that sexual harassment is everywhere and it should be out rightly condemned. I don’t think it is fair on the players: it is a form of making someone do something against their will. There should be a law against inducement; the government should make a law to regulate the issue of sexual harassment,” he advised.

NFF defends male coaches

The NFF defended their choice of male coaches for female teams. Musa Amadu said it just happens: “See, Eucharia Uche was a female coach at a time she coached the Super Falcons, so I don’t understand you.

“Ok, how many female coaches do you know personally, please mention them to me. So we only appoint the ones that are working,” he said.

Research shows that coaching jobs are male-dominated in Nigeria, Africa and the world. For example in Ghana, Algeria, Egypt, and even Morocco, all the head coaches of their female teams are men.

Hauwa in front of her Stall. Credit: Naij.com Media

Medical expert’s opinion

A medical expert, Dr. Michael Olarewaju, told Naij.com that the cases of womb loss might be as a result of  a perforated uterus during dilation and curettage.

“Most likely for things to have happened is that the uterus was perforated, and when they found out, the uterus was irreparably damaged. It might have been perforated beyond repair,” he explained. “Even if they could repair it, it will be a danger to her because the perforation may have been severely infected. Ovaries and tubes might have severe infections as well.

“Her story is not yet over. Maybe she might end up with premature menopause. She could have damaged her ovary or so,” he concluded.

Living with the effects

Hauwa is one of many victims of football coaches preying on female footballers.

When Naij.com finally spoke with Coach Dahiru, he refused to accept responsibility.

Speaking in a harsh tone and in pidgin English, he said: “Oh yes, I remember her [Hauwa], she was my player. She fell sick truly, and I sent her home to go and take care of herself, but she didn’t come back again. Anyway, the club was closed due to lack of funds.

“It was a small club and we don’t have enough money to take care of players,” he said, speaking angrily now.

“I don’t know anything about [pregnancy] belly. Why are you asking if I sleep with her? What kind of question is that? I can’t answer yes or no. Please get out. Who are you? What do you want?”

He continued asking defensive questions. Then he hissed loudly and ended the call.

“I have put football behind me. I sell Ankara Fabrics now to make ends meet. I train all the time to keep fit, and also teach young girls and boys the game of football whenever I am free. I don’t want to go anywhere else apart from my Kano. My clothing business is buoyant, and I am very happy here with my life,” Hauwa said.

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