Summary of this article
FIFA pass a new rule to further empower the Women's game
Apex body says teams must have one female head or assistant coach in the sidelines
Only 10 out of 32 teams had female head coaches in the 2023 Women's World Cup
Female Football coaches will get more chances to work at the Women’s World Cup and other tournaments after FIFA passed a new rule Thursday.
FIFA said it will require at its women’s tournaments that “at least one female must be a head coach or assistant coach” of each team.
Just 10 of 32 teams at the 2023 Women’s World Cup had a female head coach, including Sarina Wiegman of beaten finalist England.
“We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines,” FIFA’s Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis said in a statement.
FIFA’s policy will aim to spread globally what European apex body UEFA has done where the women's game is more developed.
Though just seven of 16 teams at the Women’s European Championship had a female head coach, all that appointed a man as head coach had to have a female assistant coach.
Wiegman guided England to retain its European title, which was her own third in a row and an eighth straight for female head coaches in the competition dating back to 1997.
