In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, leaders from FIFA, the International Olympic Committee and World Athletics announced new initiatives and spoke out about the importance of girls’ and women’s access to sport and sports leadership opportunities.
Jill Ellis, FIFA's chief football officer, spoke with Inside FIFA to commemorate International Women’s Day. Prior to her role at Fifa, Ellis won two Women’s World Cup titles and two World Coach of the Year awards.
“The bigger our sport gets, the more pathways and opportunities there should be for women in all areas of our game. Yet, we still see very low numbers,” she said. “And that's a core focus, being in the position I'm in now. Trying to find mechanisms, strategies and initiatives that can create pathways and roles for more women to be on the sidelines and front office. When female coaches are ready and prepared, we have an excellent success rate at the highest levels."
Ellis is a passionate supporter of FIFA’s initiatives to introduce more women to the coaching ranks through the FIFA Women’s Development Program and Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship. Both these programs include coaching education, courses and mentorship to raise the next generation of promising female soccer coaches.
Newly sworn-in president of the IOC, Kristy Coventry, released a video statement on International Women’s Day, honoring the female Olympians who have opened doors for younger girls in sport.
Said Coventry, “When women move forward through sport, the world moves forward with them.”
At World Athletics, leaders called on the stakeholders of the governing body for track and field to commit to “mentoring hours to accelerate gender equality in athletics.”
The goal of the mentorship program, with the tagline #GiveToGain, is to close the gender gap in athletics, through volunteer coaching, media work, group mentorship sessions, job shadowing opportunities and more.
“Mentorship is one of the most powerful tools we have to accelerate change. Throughout my career, both on and off the track, I have seen how guidance, support and the willingness to open doors can change the trajectory of someone’s life,” said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. “If we are serious about achieving gender equality in athletics, we must be equally serious about investing our time in the next generation of women leaders – in coaching, officiating, administration and governance. When we give our experience and expertise, we strengthen not only individuals, but the entire sport.
