Ivorian football player and manager (born 1977)
Clémentine Touré (born 21 March 1977) is an Ivorian football manager and former footballer who coaches the Ivory Coast women's national football team . She has also previously coached Equatorial Guinea women's national football team .
Personal life
At elementary school , Touré decided she enjoyed playing football.[ 1] Her father played professional football, and her two brothers played football, too.[ 2] Touré has a degree in physical education .[ 2]
Playing career
As a player, Touré played for a number of Ivorian clubs, as well as in Ghana, where she won three league titles.[ 3] She made 22 appearances for the Ivory Coast women's national football team between 1995 and 2002.[ 3] [ 2]
Coaching career
Touré's coaching career began in 2004 as an assistant coach at Jeanne d'Arc Treichville .[ 1] [ 3] In 2006, she was appointed head coach of the Koumassi Amazons, with whom she won the Ivorian League.[ 1] The press questioned her appointment as head coach, primarily due to her gender.[ 2] In 2006, Touré moved to Equatorial Guinea to coach Águilas Verdes de Guadalupe .[ 3] In 2008, she became head coach of the Equatorial Guinea women's national football team . During her reign, the team won the 2008 African Women's Championship ,[ 1] [ 3] and came second at the 2010 event ,[ 3] losing to Nigeria in the final.[ 4]
In 2010, Touré was appointed head coach of the Ivory Coast women's national football team .[ 3] [ 2] During her reign as head coach, the team qualified for the 2012 African Women's Championship , where they finished third overall,[ 2] the 2014 African Women's Championship ,[ 1] and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup .[ 3] Touré was one of eight female head coaches at the 24-team 2015 World Cup.[ 5] Prior to the tournament, the national team had never played a match outside Africa,[ 5] and in their first match, Ivory Coast lost a record 10–0 to Germany .[ 2] Touré has recruited multiple professional footballers who were born to Ivorian parents outside of the Ivory Coast.[ 4]
At The Best FIFA Football Awards 2018 , Touré was on the panel to award The Best FIFA Women's Player and The Best FIFA Women's Coach awards.[ 6] During the COVID-19 pandemic , Touré supported a FIFA and World Health Organization initiative against domestic violence during lockdowns .[ 7] In 2020, she became a supporter of the joint FIFA and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime "Recover with Integrity" campaign against corruption in football.[ 8]
Touré's Ivory Coast team failed to qualify for the 2022 Africa Women Cup of Nations , after losing in qualifying to Nigeria. It was the third consecutive AFCON that they had failed to qualify for.[ 9]
See also
References