Benin’s Female Sport Project moves forward with D Licence coaching course

The handball component of Benin’s Female Sport Project saw a significant step in December, with more than 30 new IHF D Licences awarded to female coaches who took part in a five-day course led by IHF lecturer Gilles Malfondet. Handball is one of three sports featured in the Female Sport Project — Sport au Féminin — which operates under the umbrella of the Ministry of Sports and has been organised in collaboration with the French embassy in Benin. 

The project concentrates on three key areas: promoting the participation of women as part of Benin’s overall sport development strategy, creating more opportunities for women to practise sport, and promoting sports for girls and women. For their part in the project, the Benin Handball Federation have been focused on education and increasing the number of events for girls and women. 

The education has targeted coaches, referees, technical delegates and administrators, with several courses and training programmes already implemented since the beginning of the project in 2022. The 37 participants in the D Licence coaching course all previously took part in a preparatory course led by IHF Commission of Coaching and Methods expert Paul Landure, and in December 31 of them made the next step and achieved the qualification. 

“This desire to feminise the framework is remarkable, because these interns, coming from the whole territory of Benin, become formable ambassadors in the service of the development of handball,” reported lecturer Malfondet, who also commended the organisation of the course on the part of the Benin Handball Federation.  

As with all IHF coaching courses, the programme included both theoretical and practical components, with the participants assessed to determine whether or not they achieved the qualification. 

Since the IHF last reported on Benin’s Female Sport Project and its handball developments, one significant milestone aside from the D Licence course was the first participation of women’s teams in the Moov Africa amateur championship. While the women’s competitions at a higher level have been active nationally for some time, the project has brought an increased focus on the pathways for development to the top via lower level teams and competition. There has also been a concentration on providing more events for women’s and girls’ teams to participate in. 

Follow the activities of the Benin Handball Federation on their official website.