'There are simply not enough women in coaching' - FIFA mandates female coach or assistant for all women's competitions

'Important investment'

Across all of FIFA's youth and senior women's football tournaments, national team competitions and club competitions, every team must have at least two women staff members in their staff, with one either the head coach or assistant coach.

The legislation, passed on Thursday by the FIFA Council requires all teams to have at least a head coach or assistant coach that is a woman, a massive advancement in the system that for years has only seen a small number of women leading teams.

For reference, in 2023 at the FIFA Women's World Cup, just 12 coaches were women out of the 32 head coaches across competition. Jill Ellis, FIFA chief football officer, and former coach herself said: "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..."

"The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programs, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches."

'We need more women in important positions in football'

"Of course we need more women in important positions in football," Gianni Infantino, FIFA president said at the UEFA Congress in February. "So, we should support, of course, more women in football positions and more women generally."

As women's football grows, the initiative by FIFA is part of their long-term strategy that "combines statutory advances with sustained investment in coach education and professional development, to prepare women for such leading positions."

Infantino added, "so, we should support, of course, more women in football positions and more women generally. Maybe we need ... more women coaches in women's teams. This is another debate that we will have to have at some stage because we've seen that there are excellent coaches. We saw it at the last European Championship, how women's football is healthy, how women's football is growing."

'This is an amazing development for the women's game'

U.S. Women's National Team head coach Emma Hayes shared the news on social media on Thursday, posting to her story and writing "This is an amazing development for the women's game."

At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, 12 of 32 national team head coaches were women. In the NWSL, just three teams - Racing Louisville, Boston Legacy and Seattle Reign - currently have female head coaches.

"The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programs, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches," Ellis said.

What comes next?

As of Thursday, March 19, this rule goes into effect immediately ahead of the Under 17 and U20 Women's World Cups and FIFA Women's Champions Cup.