Exclusive | Bacary Sagna on managing UAE Women’s team Banaat FC | OneFootball

Get French Football News had the opportunity to have a chat with former France, Arsenal and Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna. In this part, Sagna talks about his current role as coach of an Emirati women’s team and the cultural differences with Europe.

You are currently the coach of women’s side Banaat FC in the UAE. Could you tell us about this experience?

I’ve now been a coach for about a year and a half. In fact, I’m in the middle of my training because I’m thinking about becoming a coach of a men’s team, maybe in three to four years’ time. But I have to learn the trade first. I must learn to manage a squad, I have to learn to manage egos, I have to learn to manage fallings-out, I have to learn to manage different scenarios, I have to learn to lead and to understand what it means to have passed to the other side. I’m no longer a player; I’m a coach, and it’s totally different. So I’m mid-apprenticeship, and before jumping on a team, you have to understand the psychology of a group. That’s what I’m doing. 

So it’s going very well now. The girls adhere to my philosophy; they understand perfectly the guiding principles of our game, of our training. There’s a glaring gap between when they began and where we are now. I think we’re comfortably the best Emirati women’s team today. I firmly believe that we will win the championship and potentially that we have the chance to play in the Champions League next season. Now, we have had key matches and elements that allow us to evaluate ourselves against other teams. We played against the women’s team of Al-Qadsiah, a Saudi team. We only lost 2-1, with players who were not physically prepared. That was the case for both teams, but without the same financial strength, without having the same infrastructure, without having the same logistics, we’re managing to do things well, and I honestly haven’t seen a better team than us in the Emirates. 

People who come to the region realise that women are valued more than anything else. Women are put on a pedestal here. Some people see it differently, think that women are oppressed. But you can ask all expats who live here – this is not the case at all. Even less in Dubai, I mean in Dubai, we have all religions together, we have all jobs, we have all lifestyles, there’s no problem. We never talk about religion. There is no woman who is oppressed. Women are as present in the governmental sector as men. They have great responsibilities in the government, even in different ministries – the Ministry of Sport sometimes. 

The Emirates is working to put in place a women’s championship. What’s going to happen is that every professional team here will have a women’s team. So all the teams like Al Wasl, Al Nasr, and Al Jazira will soon have a women’s team. So it’s not just the region that is evolving, it’s the whole world that is evolving in relation to women’s exposure. 

The thing that was difficult for me to put in place was that, culturally, women do not mix with men. Precisely for prevention, to avoid all problems of harassment. So I don’t get in personal contact with the girls. We have communal apps, with their parents also present. In fact, everything is structured – it’s just a different way of life. But in no way are women oppressed, in no case are they not valued. Quite the contrary. That’s important to share. Even growing up as a Muslim, being a Muslim, you understand the values. It’s just prevention.

Bacary Sagna was speaking to GFFN courtesy of BetVictor Online Casino 

GFFN | Jeremy Smith