WAFCON FOR BRUCE MWAPE
… Häuptle vows to honour late coach by winning WAFCON title
By Cecilia Nayame
COPPER Queens coach Nora Häuptle has pledged to fight for this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in honour of former Zambia women’s national team coach Bruce Mwape, whose legacy she says will continue to inspire the team.
Mwape, who died in Chingola a week ago following an illness, transformed women’s football in Zambia by guiding the Copper Queens to three successive WAFCON tournaments in 2018, 2022 and 2024.
He also steered the team to back-to-back Olympic Games, qualifying for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and led Zambia to its historic maiden 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the Copper Queens exited at the group stage.
Speaking to the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) media in Algiers yesterday, Häuptle said she was determined to build on the foundation laid by her predecessor and make him proud by taking the team to greater heights.
“Our whole team sends its condolences. Bruce left a big legacy and I just hope that from the sky, where I believe he is now, he can look down and follow our WAFCON games,” Häuptle said.
The Swiss-born coach said the Copper Queens would give everything on the pitch in memory of the late tactician.
“I hope we make him proud and achieve the next level of what he left for us,” she said.
Häuptle described Mwape as a pioneer whose contribution to women’s football in Zambia would never be forgotten.
“He left a big legacy. He was well perceived and appreciated by all the players. I didn’t get the chance to meet him personally, but I am fully aware of what he did for the team and the legacy he left behind,” she said.
Häuptle took over as Copper Queens coach in 2025, succeeding Mwape after his successful tenure at the helm of the national team.
