The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has mandated that women’s teams of member associations must include at least one female head coach or assistant coach in their technical crew.
The new legislation was approved at the FIFA Council meeting
on Thursday.
The measure takes immediate effect in all FIFA competitions
holding this year, including the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women’s
World Cup, and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, and next year’s FIFA Women’s
World Cup.
According to FIFA, the decision is aimed at ensuring that
the representation of women in technical and leadership roles keeps pace with
the rapid growth of the women’s game.
The world football governing body decried the presence of
only 12 female coaches among the 32 nations at the 2023 women’s World Cup, and
only one remained after the round of 16.
FIFA added that, aside from the inclusion of one female head
or assistant coach, at least two other female staff members must be on the
bench for each team.
“Since 2021, FIFA has supported 795 female coaches across 73
Member Associations through its coach education scholarship programme, enabling
them to access advanced qualifications and professional opportunities,” FIFA
said.
“Additional investment is being made through the legacy
programme linked to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026, whereby
clubs in the Women’s Super League 1 and 2 were provided with coaching
scholarships for women to obtain their UEFA Pro or A Licence.”
Reacting to the decision, Jill Ellis, FIFA’s Chief Football
Officer, bemoaned the low number of female coaches for female teams, and
stressed the need for more.
“There are simply not enough women in coaching today.
“We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer
pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on
our sidelines.”
Nigeria has appointed various women as assistant and head
coaches of the female national team in the past, notably Uche Eucheria, who was
the first female assistant coach of the Super Falcons and later the first
female coach, in 2010, when she became the first to win WAFCON.
Florence Omagbemi also won WAFCON in 2016, becoming the
first woman to win the competition as both a player and a coach.
Justine Madugu is the current head coach of the Falcons, and
he led the team to its 10th WAFCON triumph last year.
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