The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has announced a new mandate requiring all women's national teams to have at least one female assistant coach on their technical staff for its tournaments. The rule, part of FIFA's Women's Football Strategy, will be implemented starting with tournaments in 2025.
According to FIFA's official announcement, the requirement is designed to accelerate the development of female coaches and create a more sustainable career pathway within the women's game. The mandate applies to all of FIFA's women's national team competitions, including the FIFA Women's World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated the move is a "concrete step" to foster gender equality. The organization has set a target of having women occupy one-third of coaching roles at its women's tournaments by the 2027 edition and achieve full gender parity by the 2031 tournament.
The policy follows a previous FIFA rule introduced for the 2023 Women's World Cup, which required teams to have a female team medic. This new coaching mandate represents a significant escalation in FIFA's efforts to address the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions within the sport they play.
