The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) has mandated that all women’s national teams must include at least one female head coach or assistant coach in their technical crew.

The directive, approved at the FIFA Council meeting on Thursday, takes immediate effect and will apply to all FIFA competitions this year, including the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and the FIFA Women’s Champions Cup, as well as next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

FIFA said the move is aimed at ensuring women are better represented in technical and leadership roles, in line with the rapid growth of the women’s game.

The governing body expressed concern over the low number of female coaches at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, where only 12 of the 32 participating teams had female coaches, with just one remaining after the round of 16.

Beyond the new requirement, FIFA also directed that each team must have at least two additional female staff members on the bench.

“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,” FIFA said.

It added that further investment is being made through legacy programmes linked to the inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup 2026, including coaching scholarships for women to obtain UEFA Pro or A Licences.

Reacting to the decision, FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis highlighted the need to address the imbalance in coaching.

“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,” she said.