Female players, male coaches: A netball puzzle

The recently concluded Netball Uganda Super League has reignited debate about gender imbalance in coaching after only one woman, Florence Abalo of Police Netball Club, served as a head coach among the 13 participating clubs.

Abalo’s lone presence meant she was competing against 12 male head coaches in a sport traditionally dominated by women on the playing court. The situation has raised questions about why many former female players are reluctant to transition into coaching and other technical roles after retirement.

Former She Cranes patron and Kampala delegate Sarah Nkonge attributes the trend largely to a lack of motivation and structured pathways for women after their playing careers.

“Women are not motivated to join coaching. After playing, they are not inspired to return to the sport in professional roles,” Nkonge said. She cited former She Cranes player Ruth Meeme as an example of how visible career progression from club to national level can encourage players to remain in the game.

Nkonge further noted that many retired national team players did not gain significant financial benefits during their careers, making it harder to convince them to re-enter netball in technical capacities.

“We have many retired She Cranes players, but because they did not financially benefit from the sport, they see no reason to return. We should empower and interest them to become umpires, coaches and sports tutors. Coaching is a profession. Let us encourage them to acquire coaching certificates,” she emphasised.

She also pointed to social pressures as a major barrier.

“After national team duties, many players turn to business or are tied up with marriage and family responsibilities, leaving them with little time to come back to netball,” Nkonge explained.

Netball Uganda President Jocelyn Ucanda described the situation as worrying, especially in a sport where women form the majority of players.

“It hurts to see men dominate coaching in netball when the sport itself is female-dominated,” Ucanda said. “When we speak to women, they say there is no money in coaching. Additionally, they have many home responsibilities, so they cannot attend coaching courses. We need both female and male coaches for gender balance. Men are many because they have time to attend courses, while women are tied up with household work.” Ucanda explained.

To address the imbalance, Ucanda revealed that Netball Uganda plans to introduce online coaching courses to make training more accessible to women. Successful candidates will then be absorbed into the system.

Meanwhile, Police Netball Club manager Esther Ssendagala has proposed a policy intervention. She suggests that each club should be required to have at least one woman on its coaching staff.

“If every club includes a woman on the technical bench, it will motivate more women to step forward and gain confidence in coaching,” Ssendagala said.

To solve the challenge, deliberate steps need to be taken to empower former players and create flexible training opportunities. If neglected, women will continue to be underrepresented on the sidelines despite dominating the court.