FIFA said Friday it was investigating a misconduct complaint involving the Zambian team at the Women's World Cup, vowing tough punishment if proven.
It provided no details, citing confidentiality, but media reports said the incident involved coach Bruce Mwape allegedly rubbing a player's breasts. "We can confirm that a complaint has been received in relation to the Zambian women's national team and this is currently being investigated," a FIFA spokesperson said. "FIFA takes any allegation of misconduct extremely seriously and has a clear process in place for anyone in football who wants to report an incident." Zambia were eliminated at the group stage of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand and are now back home.
Allegations of sexual abuse in the Zambian women's set-up surfaced on social media last year, with the Football Association of Zambia opening an investigation.
It said at the time there had been no official complaint, but "we consider these allegations very serious". Mwape, appointed in 2018, was repeatedly asked about it at the World Cup.