International Volleyball

IRANIAN FEMALE AND UGANDAN VOLLEYBALL COACHES JOIN IOC WISH PROGRAME

IRANIAN FEMALE AND UGANDAN VOLLEYBALL COACHES JOIN IOC WISH PROGRAME

Iran’s Maedeh Borhani Esfahani and Uganda’s Shilla Omuriwe to join Cohort 4 as Kenya’s Catherine Mabwi and Italy’s Federica Tonon share their positive experience in Cohort 1

Iran women’s national team captain and FIVB Level 1 coach Maedeh Borhani Esfahani will join Cohort 4 of the IOC’s WISH programme (Photo credits: AVC)

The FIVB has chosen Iran’s Maedeh Borhani Esfahani and Ugandan coach Shilla Omuriwe  to join Cohort 4 of the Women in Sport High-performance (WISH) pathway programme designed to empower female coaches.

WISH is a mentorship and training programme jointly supported by Olympic Solidarity and a number of International Federations (IF). It aims to help female coaches progress into high-performance coaching roles at national, continental and international competitions, including major events such as World Championships and the Olympic Games. 

The programme aligns with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) long-term commitment to advancing gender equality and inclusion by promoting women’s leadership in sport. The 21-month programme gives participants access to leadership training, sport-specific training and mentoring led by their IFs, and engagement with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

Omuriwe and Borhani, who will have Canada’s national women’s team head coach Shannon Winzer as their sports specific mentor, will represent volleyball in Cohort 4, following in the footsteps of Kenya’s Catherine Mabwi and Italy’s Federica Tonon who participated in Cohort 1.

An elated Omuriwe, who recently guided Uganda’s Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) women’s team to the league title, expressed her optimism that the WISH programme will be her ladder to coaching at a higher level.

“I am very grateful to the FIVB for giving me this opportunity. I’m eager to learn more about leadership, meet female coaches from all parts of the world and hear about their experiences,” said Omuriwe who also serves as the coach of Uganda men’s national team.

“I hope this course will open more doors for me in my career since I’ve always wanted to work in a more structured system that embraces technology in player development. I hope my journey will inspire women in Uganda and Africa that you can excel if you put work into your craft,” she added.

For Iranian Borhani, 34, she is hoping that the WISH programme will help her transition fully into coaching after she retires from professional volleyball.

“It’s a…

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