Nigeria's Helen Nkwocha Becomes First Female Coach Of A European Top-flight Men's Team
By Oliver Young-Miles
"I always expect to see a dinosaur coming over the mountains! There are mountains everywhere, it’s like Jurassic Park.”
Helen Lorraine Nkwocha has lived in Tvoroyri, a village of under 2,000 people situated on the Faroese island of Suduroy, since January after joining the country’s oldest football club, Tvoroyrar Boltfelag [known handily as TB].
Initially appointed to oversee TB’s youth programme, and persuade the village’s youngsters to play football in the wind and rain rather than take up indoor sports sheltered from the elements, the south Londoner was handed a promotion last month, becoming head coach of the club’s first-team. The appointment was a historic one, making Nkwocha the first female manager of a men’s top-flight team in Europe.
Nkwocha couldn’t have been given a much tougher assignment. TB are bottom of the 10-team Faroe Islands Premier League, the top division, after losing 20 and winning none of their 23 matches this season. “When I took over we knew that we were probably going to be relegated,” Nkwocha tells i. “We hadn’t won all year so we knew that it would be a difficult job. The main thing is to bring pride back to the community.”
Tvoroyri is the latest destination in a coaching career that has taken Nkwocha around the world. Over the past six years, she has been permanently stationed abroad, working in Shanghai in China before moving to the United States, initially to California and then on to Chicago.
It was while living in The Windy City that Nkwocha was alerted to the position in the Faroe Islands, a place itself so windy that she says it is not uncommon to see goalposts uproot and meander upfield when a particularly strong gust hits.
Nkwocha explains that greater job opportunities abroad, rather than any particular desire to travel, have seen her expand her coaching horizons outside of England. “Over the last five years, I’ve applied for work back home,” she says. “It’s such a competitive field, there are so many good, hungry and competitive coaches. I think a lot of coaches end up going to random countries or obscure roles because you need to coach regularly in order to improve. That’s why I’m here.”
After graduating from the University of North London with a literature degree in 1997, Nkwocha joined the Metropolitan Police. She spent 15 years with the force but having spent much of her free time teaching children on football pitches, decided to pursue a career in coaching instead. It was a bold step to take.
“I realised that I didn’t have the same passion for my job as I did for my hobby,” she recalls. “I wasn’t feeling a fire in my belly for what was paying my mortgage. It was a brave decision and some people were like ‘what are you doing?’ The financial difference was massive. It was difficult trying to juggle everything and not having the money to do courses to improve.”
Nkwocha sold her house and bought a boat as a cost-cutting measure. “I lived on a boat for three years. It was a lovely lifestyle. I was in a marina next to Harlow Town football club where I worked and it was a wonderful community. Everybody was so relaxed. It was so calm and chilled out.”
"Financial issues weren’t the only obstacle in her way. “Usually, when I work at a club, I’m the only black female there,” she admits. “I played for 23 years and only ever had one female coach. That was a long time ago, and I know that there are steps that have been made to increase that sort of visibility. But you still don’t tend to see many people that look like me, especially in a decision-making role, in a sporting environment.”
Having recently made a historic jump into the men’s game, Nkwocha accepts that aspiring female coaches from similar backgrounds may look to her as a role model. “When you’re part of a marginalised group and recognise that you are one of the very few, you have to take on that responsibility.
Nkwocha still coaches TB’s youth players as well as the first-team squad (Photo: Helen Lorraine Nkwocha)
Nkwocha still coaches TB’s youth players as well as the first-team squad (Photo: Helen Lorraine Nkwocha)
“I had someone who did that for me. When I was trying to decide whether or not to stick with coaching I looked up to [former England and current Brighton manager] Hope Powell and saw the level that she was operating at and how she was able to navigate the challenges of football at the top level. Whether I like it or not, I’m part of a small group. So I think there’s some responsibility that comes with that.”
But for the time being, she’s happy where she is. “You can have an array of different climates all within one day, but it’s an amazing place to relax, it’s so cathartic. The people are so friendly. It’s also the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
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