‘I want to inspire’: Jackline Juma on historic manager’s job in men’s Kenyan Premier League
Division’s first female coach discusses the reaction from the club’s players and fans and why she is not feeling pressure
“I can say so far so good,” Jackline Juma says, two and a half months after becoming the first female coach of a men’s team in the Kenyan Premier League. Results have been mixed after five points from five games but there are signs of progress that FC Talanta are on course to achieve her first target: avoiding a repeat of last season’s relegation battle, when the Nairobi club survived by a point. Really though, the 38-year-old wants a top-six finish in the 18-team league.
There is, of course, a bigger picture. Being a female coach of a top-tier professional men’s team could be a gamechanger if it goes well, but what if it doesn’t? “I don’t feel the pressure of being a representative female coach,” Juma says. “The chances of failing are possible; all coaches know that. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but when you do [lose] it must be a learning process. I do not feel pressure as I know I am capable.”
