Wanyama embarks on coaching journey with UEFA B badge pursuit
By Dennis Mabuka, May 22, 2025Former Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama has begun his UEFA B Diploma coaching course offered by the Northern Ireland Football Federation.
The diploma is the first step towards coaching professional teams and allows him to coach younger players.
Former Southampton teammate and retired Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld is among those attending the course, which started on Monday, and he shared the news on his social media pages.
“Going for the badges with some old friends,” Hooiveld captioned a photo while posing alongside Wanyama.
Others in the course include former United States international Jimmy Conrad, who wrote on Instagram, “Day 1 of UEFA coaching in the books. I can’t feel my legs, but I had a good time.”
In a recent interview with FIFA.com, Wanyama revealed his desire to become a coach after hanging up his playing boots: “I think I will do that, yes, become a coach. I have worked with some great coaches. I look at how they see the game and I have tried to take in everything.
“I believe one day I could be a good manager. My motivation is always to learn new things. Football is a game of learning, nobody knows it all. Whatever I do in football, I just always want to be the best I can be.”
Wanyama became the first-ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he netted the opening goal in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Barcelona on 7 November 2012.
On 11 July 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League club Southampton for Sh2.15 billion, making him the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club at the time, surpassing the Sh1.64 billion Russian club Spartak Moscow paid for Aiden McGeady in 2010.
In the summer of 2016, he moved to Southampton’s Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, where he stayed until March 2020, when he signed with Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact.
In March 2025, Wanyama returned to Scotland to play for Dunfermline Athletic under his former Celtic manager, Neil Lennon.
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