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The first woman to be appointed coach of a top-flight men's team in Burundi says she was stunned when she learned of Inter Star's decision.

Following a lengthy playing career, Belyse Ininahazwe, 35, has been placed in charge of the four-time Burundian champions until the end of the season.

While she would ideally lead the club back to former glories, with their last title coming in 2008, her main aim will be avoiding relegation after Inter Star finished a place above the drop zone last season.

"The fact they chose a woman to be their trainer is not a small thing, but a big thing," Ininahazwe told the ���˿���'s Great Lakes Service.

"Initially, I thought they were joking but it's real - I am their coach. It was difficult for me to understand but I thank them for trusting me."

Recently coaching a men's side in Burundi's third division, Ininahazwe says that working in what has traditionally been a man's world should not prove overly problematic given she has "always trained as a coach in male-dominated sessions".

During a playing career with La Colombe, defender Ininahazwe won six national titles between 2002 and 2016, after which she turned her attentions to coaching.

As she rises up the game, she is keen to emulate role models who count among the most successful coaches in global football history.

"I love Pep Guardiola and his philosophies, and I love how humble Zinedine Zidane is. I want to go far in work like Pep, and be humble in life like Zidane."

Manchester City boss Guardiola recently secured a historic Uefa Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup treble, while former Real Madrid coach Zidane is the only manager to win three Champions League titles in a row.

'Women can do what men do'

A mother-of-one, Ininahazwe says that she developed a passion for football in childhood because of her family make-up.

"I always loved football because I was born in a family with more boys than girls," she explained.

"When I was young and in primary school, we used to play football in the streets, until I joined a team."

After over a decade's service playing for La Colombe, she started helping to coach the team - even though she says the thought of being a manager had never previously entered her mind.

Before long, she joined the La Pepiniere football academy, which has a team in the third tier.

Now she has taken a major leap to the top of the club game in Burundi, a country which has struggled to make an impact on African football, having qualified just once for the Africa Cup of Nations, in 2019.

"It is going to be a bit tough now that I will be coaching a first division team," she readily admits.

Nonetheless, she has every confidence in her ability, despite the doubts and naysayers.

"A job like this is not easy because you stay on the field, in a crowd of men. But if you love it and know it, women are able to do what men do."

"I know it will be difficult which is why I have to know how to use my skills. I've not been asked to win a trophy but I want to work to get Inter Star into a good place."

Ininahazwe's first game in charge comes on Friday 18 August, with Inter Star hosting Kayanza United on the opening day of the 2023-2024 Burundian season.