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FIFA has introduced landmark regulations requiring every team competing in its women’s tournaments to include at least one female head or assistant coach. The mandate, approved by the FIFA Council on Thursday, will take effect starting with this year's U-17 and U-20 Women’s World Cups, as well as the Women’s Champions Cup. The move is part of a broader, long-term strategy to increase the representation of women in elite coaching roles.
Under the new ruling, at least two staff members on the bench of every team at matches must be female, with one in an assistant coach or head coach role.
The rule applies to all youth and senior tournaments, including clubs and national teams.
At the 2023 Women's World Cup, 12 of the 32 head coaches were female, including England manager Sarina Wiegman.
"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 the current and future generation of female coaches."
Fifa hopes these new regulations will see a rapid increase in female representation, including at the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
Among some of the most high-profile female coaches is London-born Emma Hayes, who is joined by assistant Denise Reddy at the United States.
In 2024, Hayes said that a lack of female coaches in English football is "a massive issue" and urged the game's administrators to "come up with more creative ways" to address it.
Other female English coaches at international level include Gemma Grainger at Norway, Casey Stoney at Canada and Carla Ward at the Republic of Ireland.
Canadian Rhian Wilkinson led Wales to their first major tournament at Euro 2025 last summer, while Dutchwoman Wiegman has guided England to back-to-back European titles and has been named the Fifa best women's coach of the year on four occasions.
