Since 2017, Mohamed “Housseï” Saloum has embodied stability and self-discipline on the helm of the Aiglonnes. The primary health coach within the historical past of the Malian ladies’s nationwide crew, he has change into its chief architect. His purpose: to make Mali a continental powerhouse
“Being a nationwide coach is nearly like being a minister.” When Mohamed “Housseï” Saloum says these phrases, it isn’t out of pleasure or provocation. It displays the burden of accountability on his shoulders–the obligation to hold the hopes of a ladies’s soccer scene that was lengthy ignored, generally even scorned, however is now on the rise in Mali.
Since 2017, he has led the Aiglonnes, a task he fulfils with humility, self-discipline, and imaginative and prescient. A former health coach–and the primary to carry that place for the Malian ladies’s crew in 2015–Saloum has, in only a few years, change into the primary architect of the revival of girls’s soccer within the nation.
Via membership success, the rise of native gamers, and the emergence of abilities like Agueicha Diarra, he has constructed a crew that fears nobody on the continent. Forward of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON, he spoke to CAFOnline.com about his journey, his deep convictions, and the keys to Mali’s progress.
What motivated you to become involved in ladies’s soccer?
At first, I used to be hesitant. Again then, many coaches stayed away from ladies’s soccer, usually due to social prejudices. However skilled colleagues inspired me and So I gave it a shot. In 2015, I joined the ladies’s nationwide crew as a health coach–it was a primary in Mali. That function allowed me to herald some construction, and I believe it was useful. I later earned my teaching licenses, and in 2017, I used to be entrusted with main the crew.
How do you view the evolution of girls’s soccer in Mali since your beginnings?
The progress is obvious. In 2015, the ladies’s league was nonetheless in its infancy. Immediately, we’ve got round a dozen golf equipment nationwide. Because of CAF’s coverage requiring main golf equipment like Stade Malien and Djoliba to have ladies’s groups, many ladies have discovered a spot to develop. We have additionally seen younger abilities emerge, and I deliver them into the senior crew as quickly as attainable to present them a style of top-level soccer.
Mali has performed in a number of WAFCONs beneath your management. What retains you going after eight years?
It is a fight–but a noble one. I wish to present these younger ladies that by way of laborious work, you’ll be able to go far. In 2018, we reached the semifinals of the WAFCON–a first in Mali’s historical past.
That era continues to encourage the subsequent. Immediately, about 75% of our former gamers play overseas, in Europe, Asia, or North Africa. My purpose is obvious: to put Mali amongst Africa’s high three nations and ultimately attain the World Cup.
On this WAFCON, you are in a tricky group with South Africa, Ghana, and Tanzania. How are you approaching this problem?
Persons are already calling it the “group of loss of life.” However Mali thrives on challenges. South Africa is the reigning champion, Ghana is a historic powerhouse, and Tanzania is bettering rapidly. In 2018, we had been those who eradicated Ghana. We wish to show ourselves once more. Our gamers are on the rise, and this AFCON shall be a possibility to indicate the place we stand.
How is the dynamic between worldwide and native gamers?
Superb. In actual fact, many had been first skilled regionally. Agueicha Diarra, for instance, performed for Tremendous Lionnes of Hamdallaye earlier than shining on the 2018 WAFCON. That is when she bought seen. The identical goes for Aïssata Traoré, now an expert overseas. After they return to the nationwide crew, these gamers deliver expertise and strengthen crew cohesion. They present the native gamers what professionalism requires. It is a helpful relay.
Talking of which, are you able to inform us about Agueicha Diarra’s journey?
I may write a e book about her! I noticed her very early. I supplied her particular person coaching classes earlier than crew apply to work on her self-discipline. She bought the message–and so did her dad and mom. That was the turning level in her profession. Immediately, she performs for PSG, and he or she usually tells me: “Coach, what you advised me again then–I am residing it now.” That makes me proud.
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How do you retain observe of your gamers exterior of coaching camps?
We have arrange a rigorous system. Domestically, my workers and I attend league matches each week. We additionally keep in common contact with membership coaches. For gamers overseas, new know-how helps us rather a lot. Golf equipment ship us match footage so we are able to observe their performances. This enables us to supply customized monitoring, establish areas for enchancment, and plan future call-ups.
And personally, what does this function as head coach deliver you?
It is an enormous accountability. While you carry the ambitions of a nationwide crew, you are not removed from being a minister! I perceive the honour of representing Mali. I attempt to be worthy of it, with humility. Ladies’s soccer deserves extra recognition, extra sources, and I imagine that collectively, we are going to get there.
