Football needs more female coaches, says Vassiliou
Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner responsible for sport, will call for UEFA to do more to promote female coaches in football when she meets its President Michel Platini at a meeting of the UEFA Women in Football Leadership Programme in Switzerland this afternoon.
Commissioner Vassiliou will propose strengthened cooperation between UEFA and the EU on gender issues, including the fight against discrimination and sexual harassment.
Speaking ahead of the meeting at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, the Commissioner said: “ low number of female coaches means that European football teams are missing out on a lot of coaching talent, in both men's and women's football. More female coaches could also encourage more girls and women to take up the sport."
While football is an increasingly popular sport for girls and women, they are still under-represented on a professional basis and as volunteers. It is estimated that only 20-30% of all football coaches are female and 20 out of 52 European sport federations do not have a single woman on their board.
