FIFA mandates minimum of one female coach on Women’s national teams in its competitions

The FIFA Council has approved a new rule requiring women’s teams at its tournaments to have at least one female coach on the bench, late last week.

The measure comes into force immediately, covering the upcoming U17 and U20 Women’s World Cups as well as the Women’s Champions Cup. Under the new guidelines, teams must include at least two women in their backroom staff, with one serving as either head coach or assistant coach.

The rule applies across all FIFA women’s competitions – from youth to senior level, and across both international and club tournaments.

“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 chief football officer Jill Ellis (pictured).

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

FIFA says the move is part of a broader push to grow the number of women in coaching, describing it as a “long-term strategy” built on regulatory change and increased investment in education and development pathways.

At the 2023 Women’s World Cup, just 12 of the 32 head coaches were women.

“Of course we need more women in important positions in football,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the UEFA Congress in February.

“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.”