Many people are interested in finding out how many female soccer coaches there are in comparison to the higher number of male soccer coaches, and if you are one of these people, then you have come to the right place.
In this article, we are going to answer all of your questions about female soccer coaches, including how many there are. This will help to give you a better understanding of the current statistics surrounding female soccer coaches.
Are There Any Female Soccer Coaches?
It is no secret that women’s soccer is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, but it is also becoming known that the opportunities for female coaches are not so popular.
When it comes to the National Women’s Soccer League, there is only one female head coach, and only nine women make up the total of 36 coaching jobs.
It is thought that the only way to close this gap would be for more professional female soccer players to make their way up to the coaching rank.
Interestingly, there are 13 male coaches that were previously professional soccer players, but there are only 6 female coaches that were professional soccer players.
According to the chairwoman of the advocacy group at United Soccer Coaches, this gap is not in place due to a lack of interest or a lack of opportunities.
Many retired or transitioning soccer players are making their way into coaching positions, and there are many different avenues available. However, the real issue is thought to lie with those in hiring positions.
How Many Female Soccer Coaches Are There?
According to recent studies that have taken place, there are only 4154 females employed as coaches across all sports within intercollegiate athletics, which is a major increase since 2012.
America is well recognized around the globe for their triumphs when it comes to female soccer, and they are a leader in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. However, the low number of female coaches is something to be aware of.
It is actually quite difficult to find exact statistics for how many female soccer coaches there are, which is interesting, but there are accessible numbers for the amount of licensed coaches that there are.
While it can be argued that there are more women with licenses now than there were in the past, there is still a long way to go when it comes to women filling these positions.
The total number of licenses is 14,001, but we will break down these figures by licensing levels below:
F: 11,215
E: 1,752
D: 318
C: 265
B: 214
A: 117
How Can We Encourage More Female Soccer Coaches?
There is no easy way to answer this question, as there is no one approach that can be followed to solve the problem.
However, raising awareness of the need for more female coaches is a great start. It is also important to work to create more opportunities to make a difference, even if it is easier said than done.
It is also beneficial to celebrate those female soccer coaches that we do already have, and be sure to cheer them on from the sidelines.
If you are wondering more about female soccer coaches, we are going to leave our top pick for the best women’s soccer coach below.
Who is the Best Women’s Soccer Coach?
While there are many successful female soccer coaches, one of the best is Pia Sundhage, who is currently Sweden’s National Women’s Team Manager.
Sundhage is a former Swedish player and a current head coach for the women’s national team. She is both experienced and accomplished, and has been coaching for around 30 years so far.
Pia Sundhage has mostly worked for clubs in both Sweden and America, but she has also worked with both of the nations national teams.
Between 2008 and 2012, she was the manager of the USA’s women’s team, and she was able to guide the team to achieving two Olympic gold medals, alongside a runner-up finish in the 2011 women’s world cup.
In 2012, she went back to managing Sweden’s National Team and was able to guide this team to an Olympic silver medal in 2016.
She spent most of her career as a forward, but she managed to retire as a top scorer for her national team. As well as this, she spent time playing as both a sweeper and a midfielder.
Sundhage has guided teams to major achievements throughout her career as a coach throughout the last 30 years, and she continues to achieve great things.
Her success has even led to her winning the 2012 FIFA World Coach of the Year. She also became head coach for Sweden’s women’s national football team, and was in this career from 2012 to 2017.
