FIFA mandates woman coach or assistant for all women’s competitions

Christopher Sededzi Kwame 21:49 - 19 March 2026

Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo

FIFA has introduced new regulations requiring women’s teams competing in its tournaments to include a female head coach or assistant coach on the bench.

The policy, approved by the FIFA Council on Thursday, takes immediate effect ahead of upcoming competitions, including the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, U-20 Women’s World Cup, and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.

Under the new rules, each team must appoint at least two women to their technical staff, with one serving as either the head coach or assistant coach.

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The directive will apply across all FIFA women’s competitions, covering both youth and senior levels, as well as national team and club tournaments.

FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis 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 programmes, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches.

The initiative forms part of FIFA’s broader strategy to increase female representation in coaching, combining regulatory changes with long-term investment in coach education and professional development.

At the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, only 12 of the 32 participating teams were led by female head coaches, highlighting the gender gap the new policy seeks to address.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said during the UEFA Congress in February,

Of course we need more women in important positions in football

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.

FIFA’s decision isn’t just a rule change; it’s part of a strategic push to transform the landscape of women’s football globally.

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