FIFA Mandates Female Coaches for Women's Competitions
The world football governing body, FIFA, has introduced new regulations to increase the number of women coaching at the highest level. Starting from the U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups, as well as the Women’s Champions Cup, every team participating in FIFA's women’s competitions must have at least one female head or assistant coach.
According to FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis, each team must also have at least two female staff members on the bench. This requirement will apply across all women's tournaments from youth to senior level.
Promoting Women in Coaching
Ellis emphasized the need to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing visibility for women on the sidelines."The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programmes, mark an important investment in both the current and future generations of female coaches," she said.
Ellis pointed out that only 12 of the 32 head coaches at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia were women, a figure that FIFA believes does not reflect the rapid global growth of the women’s game.
She added that Sarina Wiegman of England was the only female coach left after the round of 16 and went on to lead her team to a second-place finish.
Statistics and Future Plans
According to the 2023 Member Associations Survey, women made up an average of five per cent of coaches across both male and female teams globally. Meanwhile, FIFA's 2024 'Setting the Pace' benchmarking report, which surveyed 86 women's leagues worldwide, found that 22 per cent of head coaches were women.Ellis stated that the new rules form part of a long-term strategy to ensure that women's representation in technical and leadership roles keeps pace with the growth of the women's game.
FIFA has increased support for women's coaching in recent years, including the provision of scholarships for women in top leagues to obtain UEFA Pro or A coaching licences.