During an exclusive interview with 'le360sport', the Moroccan coach of TP Mazembe, Lamia Boumehdi, made history by winning the Women's Champions League in the final against AS FAR (1-0), disputed on Moroccan soil. Crowned best female coach on the continent at the 2024 CAF Awards, Boumehdi became the first Moroccan to receive this title. At 41, the former international player looks back on her exceptional career, the challenges she overcame and her ambitions for Moroccan and African women's football.
Offering the Congolese club its very first African trophy, Lamia Boumehdi spoke about this coronation: “I was happy to win the Champions League with TP Mazembe, especially since I won it in Morocco, in my country, in front of my family”. For her, this victory has a special flavor. She says she is proud to represent Moroccan and African women, especially after being named “Coach of the Year” at the 2024 CAF Awards: “Winning this award here, in my country, was a unique and moving moment”.
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During the CAF Awards 2024 ceremony, held on Monday December 16 at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakech, the former Lioness of the Atlas (1999-2009) was rewarded against her competitors Ahmed Ramadan (FC Masar), Mohamed Amine Alioua (AS FAR) and Thinasonke Mbuli (University of the Western Cape).
For Lamia Boumehdi, the secret of her success lies in “the work and trust of the leaders of the Congolese club, who let me work in my own way”. However, Boumehdi does not hide the obstacles she has had to overcome since her debut: “In all areas, women face many difficulties. In football, we often think that it is a sport reserved for men. If a man has to work once, a woman has to work tenfold to prove her worth. Thank God, this CAF Awards award makes me proud of my work”.
Currently based in DR Congo, Lamia Boumehdi devotes all her time to her work and her commitment to the development of football, particularly within TP Mazembe: “I spend a lot of time between work and home. I am a home person. With TP Mazembe, we launched a sports-study project and a women's team for under-17s. We have also created a mixed football school for children aged 3 to 14.
Lamia Boumehdi has big ambitions for next season: “We intend to defend our title and, above all, qualify for the first edition of the Women’s Club World Cup.” She is also considering a return to Morocco: “These experiences abroad open a window for Moroccan coaches and players, men and women. One day, I will put all this knowledge at the service of my country”.
Before joining the sidelines of TP Mazembe in 2023, the 41-year-old technician first took the reins of the Wydad Casablanca women's team between 2015 and 2016. She then began a new adventure with the Moroccan selections U17 women's team in 2017, before being named by the FRMF in 2020 as interim U20 coach, after the departure of the American Kelly Lindsey. A CAF instructor, Boumehdi also held a position in the training department of the National Technical Directorate.
For her, Morocco has become a model to follow: “Morocco has become a model for CAF, by organizing numerous events on its soil. With the 2030 World Cup, the country confirms its leadership. The leaders of TP Mazembe even asked me to present the FRMF project to them as an example”.
Par Anas Zabari et Said Kadry
12/26/2024 at 4:38 p.m.
