New regulations require every team to include at least one female head coach or assistant coach in FIFA women’s tournaments
Decision comes into effect this year with the U-17 and U-20 FIFA Women's World Cups and FIFA Women's Champions Cup™
Landmark move is part of FIFA’s long-term approach, combining statutory advances with continued investment in coach development
The FIFA Council has today approved groundbreaking regulations that will reshape the future of women’s football, mandating female representation in team leadership across all its women’s competitions. From this year onward, each team participating in FIFA women’s competitions, shall ensure that their head coach and/or at least one of the assistant coaches be female, that at least one of the medical staff be female, and that at least two officials seated on the team bench be female. This applies to all youth and senior tournaments, national team competitions, and club competitions.
The measure was approved at the FIFA Council meeting on Thursday, 19 March, and will debut at the FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup™ in Poland in September, followed by the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™, all scheduled for this year. Significantly, it also includes the biggest women’s sporting event on the planet, the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ set to be held in Brazil in 2027.
"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.
The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programmes, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches.
The initiative is part of FIFA’s broader strategy to ensure that the rapid growth of the women’s game is matched by an increased representation of women in technical and leadership roles. Despite the significant expansion of the women’s game globally, coaching positions remain predominantly occupied by men. At the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ 12 of the 32 head coaches were female. The approved regulations are part of FIFA’s long-term strategy, which combines statutory advances with sustained investment in coach education and professional development, to prepare women for such leading positions.
FIFA is dedicated to increasing the number of qualified female coaches at the highest level of the game. As part of its global Women’s Football Strategy, FIFA provides its Member Associations around the world with a comprehensive range of programmes and funding opportunities to help grow the number of female coaches. These initiatives include coach mentorship programmes (global and domestic), coach education scholarships (individual and group), and the Female Coach Educators’ Development Pathway. Since 2021, FIFA has supported 795 female coaches across 73 Member Associations through its coach education scholarship programme, enabling them to access advanced qualifications and professional opportunities. Additional investment is being made through the legacy programme linked to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026 whereby clubs in the Women’s Super League 1 and 2 were provided with coaching scholarships for women to obtain their UEFA Pro or A Licence. The third edition of FIFA’s Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship Programme, launched in 2025, pairs 20 experienced high-performance coaches with emerging female coaches worldwide. In addition, FIFA has developed a dedicated Female Coach Educators’ Development Pathway designed to expand the global network of instructors able to train and mentor the next generation of women coaches.