Source:REUTERS/Matthew Childs
[Saba Sports News] Recently, FIFA introduced a new rule requiring women’s national and club teams to have at least two women on their coaching staff, one of whom must be the head coach or an assistant coach. The rule takes immediate effect and applies to all FIFA women’s competitions at both national team and club levels. The first tournament to enforce this regulation will be the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup to be held in Poland this September. The decision was formally adopted at the FIFA Council meeting on Thursday, following data showing that only 12 of the 32 participating teams at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup had female head coaches. Notably, the new rule does not require teams to dismiss male coaches to create positions for women. However, the regulation will be included in the tournament participation agreements, and all teams must strictly comply with it.
The editor believes that the number of female coaches in football today is far from sufficient, and we must take more steps to accelerate this transformation by establishing clearer career pathways, expanding development opportunities, and increasing the visibility of women working on the touchline. FIFA’s new regulation, together with targeted development programs, represents a significant investment in the current and future generations of female coaches.