Last week the FIFA council passed a groundbreaking measure to invest in the female coaching development pipeline. Beginning this year, all women’s soccer teams wishing to compete in FIFA competitions, including youth and senior tournaments, national team competitions and club competitions, must employ at least one female coach, one female medical staffer and two female officials on the bench.
According to Inside FIFA, only 12 of the 32 teams at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 were coached by women, and only 7% of positions across member organizations were held by women. The organization wants to see those numbers changed drastically, and in increasing the number of required roles, FIFA hopes to see more women working at the highest level of the game.
"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,” said FIFA’s chief football officer, Jill Ellis.
Related: Game Changers: Leaders at FIFA, World Athletics Announce Initiatives for International Women’s Day
The move by FIFA comes at a time when sports across the globe are witnessing many female ‘firsts’ in their coaching ranks. In 2025, Game Changers highlighted ten women who were promoted or hired into positions that no woman has ever held before, including Allison Krajewski, the first-ever woman on the coaching staff of the Rockies’ High-A affiliate team, Sonia Raman, the first Indian head coach in the WNBA, or Ashley Cornwell, the first female assistant football coach at Central State University.
FIFA also recently announced FIFA Women’s Development Program and Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship, both aimed at making coaching training and mentorship accessible for women in the sport.
Said Ellis, “The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programs, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches.”
