Our first female coach to lead male football players: "There has never been any discrimination against girls in our family" - INTERVIEW

Interview with Zulfiyya Bayramova, coach of the "Shimal" football club, for Idman.biz

- You will be the first female coach to work with a men's football team in Azerbaijan. Does working with men scare you? What if they don't listen to you?

- No. It seems like a normal thing to me. What's the big deal if they are men?

- How many years have you been playing football?

- More than thirteen years. Actually, I have been playing football since childhood. But I joined the championships from the age of 15. Until then, I didn't have much information about women's football. I heard that there was a girls' team, and I joined it. I have been playing for about fifteen years.

- How old are you?

- 28.

- How did the "Shimal" club choose you specifically?

- Fazil Salahov, who works there, used to be my coach. Thanks to him, we took this step thanks to his initiative. We have signed a contract with the "Shimal" club until the end of the 2025-2026 season. I hope I can be useful to the team.

- Do you have coaching experience?

- Yes. I have participated in AFFA trainings. I have a C category coaching certificate. I have worked as a coach in children's football teams.

- You are also a football player of "Baku Juniors". Will it not be difficult for you to work in two clubs?

- No. I believe I can handle it. I used to be a goalkeeper in "Baku Juniors", in the last matches I play as a football player, mostly in attack.

- You will work with Zaur Ramazanov in "Shimal" from the new season. Have you had any cooperation with him before? In general, do you know the football players playing in the team?

- I know some of them. But since I have not yet joined the training sessions, I will not be able to give a precise answer to this question.

- How was the reaction of your family and relatives to this appointment?

- My family always supports me. Even sometimes when I hesitate about something, my mother says that I should be more active. As you can see, I don't like to talk. There is no discrimination against girls in our generation, in our family. In general, a lot depends on how you are raised. I was raised differently, I was never in the background because I was a girl. I live in Khachmaz. Since I grew up in the region, I have always done men's work. That's why working with men doesn't scare me.

- Do you also believe that "A woman's place is not in the kitchen"?

- No, why not? You also need to be able to do kitchen work.

- Can you?

- Of course.

Aytac Sahad
Idman.biz