In Togo, a woman elected for the first time to head a football club
The appointment of Yawa Kouigan as president of the soccer team Ifodjè FC is a first in Togo. This mayor has big plans for her club, the area, and Togolese women, who are “equally capable of investing and thriving outside the beaten path”.
Ifodjè FC’s president based her goals on “the theory of radiation,” which she defines as achieving “big outcomes” after “many modest successes” via “determination, technique, and persistence.”
In the history of Togolese soccer, she is the “first Togolese woman elected to this post.” Ayena Serge, a representative of the Togolese Football Federation, speaks highly of Yawa Kouigan. She is the mayor of Ogou 2, a town in the Plateaux area, and she was recently chosen to lead Ifodjè FC, a first-division soccer team in the region.
At the elected General Assembly convened on 9 October in the city of Atakpamé, her list, Lumière, was the only one recorded by the jury. Yawa Kouigan will have a dozen members of the new executive board to help him carry out his goal, including Akodah Ayéwouadan, the Togolese Minister of Communication and Media, and the government spokesperson who is originally from the area.
National Championship
When questioned about her goals for the club, the new president expresses her wish to see Ifodjè FC “win under her administration, and for the second time in the club’s history, the Togo Cup”. To put it another way, win the title.
Ifodjè was ranked 5th in the northern zone for the 2020-2021 season. Togo’s first division teams are divided into two zones, north and south, with the first of each zone competing for the title of Togo’s champion at the conclusion of the season.
“There is potential for growth based on previous season’s rating. “We must tackle this with order and procedure in order to progress towards the top four or three and ultimately re-edit what we did in 1990 by winning the first division national championship and keeping a sustained top ranking,” Yawa Kouiga stated.
It will certainly be able to depend on the backing of the club’s fans and sports celebrities to accomplish its objective. Tino Adjété, a former vice president of the Togolese Football Federation, explained that the election of a woman to a club president post at this level “amazes” him.
“I advise her to respect two things in order to accomplish her objectives”. He recommends that they have excellent preparation for the execution of their program and effective administration, that is, “that they surround themselves with trustworthy and capable individuals.”
The election of Yawa Kouigan as the new president of Ifodjè FC has been highly praised on social media, especially by Togolese government authorities.
But Yawa Kouigan’s ambitions go beyond sports competitions. She affirms that her wish is to demonstrate that “women are just as capable as men, to invest the beaten track and succeed”. In addition, the Togolese councilor is keen to strengthen social cohesion in his municipality and the region through football.
