Overview
- Union Berlin appointed Marie-Louise Eta as head coach and, after her debut ended in defeat, the club condemned a wave of sexist abuse on social media.
- Spain’s top men’s leagues in football, basketball, futsal, volleyball, water polo, handball, and hockey list no women as head coaches.
- In Spanish football, all 42 men’s professional teams are coached by men and clubs report no women on those technical staffs, while only two of 16 teams in the women’s top tier are led by women.
- Training pipelines are growing, with women now making up about 20% to 30% of coaching-course participants and UEFA counting more than 20,000 licensed women coaches in Europe.
- Experts say the gap stems from closed, male-dominated hiring networks and risk-averse club culture rather than a lack of qualified candidates.