On a Saturday morning in South Yorkshire, two women’s teams stream onto the pitch- but the coaches calling out from the touchline are both men. As the women’s game continues to grow, there are still too few women leading the game off the pitch. In coaching and managerial roles from grassroots level to the professional game, it’s still a rare sight to see a woman setting the drills, calling the subs and taking charge from the sidelines.
While women’s player participation has surged — with teams in South Yorkshire growing by 22% since 2021 — just 12% of qualified coaches in England are women, and under 10% hold elite UEFA A or Pro Licences. In local girls’ grassroots teams, fewer than 15% of coaches are women across the region.
It’s not because the talent isn’t there. To become a qualified, confident coach, especially at the highest levels, takes money, early access and inspiration, and all these variables are clicking into place far too rarely.
We spoke to women’s football coaches working in Sheffield and Hallamshire, Barnsley, and at national level, from grass-roots football right up to the England youth team, to better understand what obstacles an upcoming female coach may face given the current state of affairs.
Molly Wilson, Samantha Griffiths and Hannah Wright shared their career experience, identified existing issues and suggested ideas for what can be done to improve the inequality gap between men and women in coaching roles in the women’s game.
Molly Wilson explained how women struggle to find the time to coach, even at grassroots level. ‘‘I think the biggest struggle is that women, especially Mums, have usually got other responsibilities, generally they do all the household chores, which prevents them from moving forward in coaching.’’
Today, Molly is a Regional Coach Development Officer at the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA and leads the Stepping Over the Sidelines programme, designed to bring more women into coaching. “One phrase we hear a lot is, ‘I’m just a mum’, but we say no, you’re a role model.” The initiative gives women a supported route in, even if they’ve never kicked a ball. Molly said that the entry level qualification helps women to realise that: ‘’You don’t necessarily need to have all the knowledge of the game because you’ve got a lot of transferable skills in your day to day job which can cross-over into coaching.’’
Representation, she says, is vital. “If girls only ever see men in those positions of leadership, they don’t even consider that they could be a coach. But when they see someone like me — someone’s mum, someone local — that can make all the difference.”
For Hannah Wright, coaching became a mission forged from frustration. After being sidelined at a youth academy where “if you didn’t have connections, you were just making numbers up,” she resolved to become the kind of mentor she never had. “I thought, right—I’ll be the coach who changes that for someone else.’’
Despite earning her UEFA B licence and taking on coaching roles at Barnsley FC and as an FA Community Champion, she remains one of the few women in the room. “Every course, every qualification—I’ve been the only female. Even now, nearly 29, it’s still men first. They get the most bursaries and typically they’re the first to volunteer at grassroots level.”
Hannah is passionate about visibility and role models as catalysts for change. “You’ve got to see it to believe it. I didn’t even have a female coach to look up to until college. That’s late.” She also points to the quieter barriers — puberty, periods, awkward conversations with male coaches — as moments when girls drop out. “It’s not just about fairness on paper. It’s about making the space feel safe, human.”
Her work today is rooted in one goal: ensuring girls coming through now don’t need to feel like they’re the exception.
“It has to start young”: Why elite coaching depends on grassroots inspiration
Samantha Griffiths, Derby County Women’s first-team manager, on building the female coaching pipeline
For Samantha Griffiths, managing at a high level in women’s football isn’t just about tactics and matchday preparation — it’s about legacy. As one of a small number of women in England to hold the prestigious UEFA A licence, she understands better than most what it takes to reach the top. But she’s just as passionate about where that journey begins.
“You don’t just wake up one day and decide to be a football coach at this level,” says Samantha. “You need years of experience, qualifications, and support — and that starts when you’re young.”
The pathway to coaching elite women’s football runs straight through grassroots pitches, and without opportunities and encouragement early on, many girls may never see coaching as something they can do — let alone thrive in.
“It’s not just about playing. It’s about giving girls the confidence to lead, to take charge of a team, and to see coaching as a viable career,” she explains. “And that’s where grassroots coaches have a huge role — they plant the seed.”
“When you’re young, you want someone you can relate to. Someone who looks like you, sounds like you, who gets it. That’s why representation matters — because you have to see it to believe it.”
Samantha’s story is proof that with the right support, commitment, and belief, women can rise to the top of the game. But for the next generation to follow, the foundation must be laid now — on the grass, in parks, and on community pitches where future leaders first fall in love with football.
In South Yorkshire, initiatives like Stepping Over the Touchline are helping women overcome the practical barriers of cost, childcare and confidence. At the national level, the FA’s Women’s Coach Development programme is strengthening the pathway too — offering bursaries, mentorship, and dedicated support for women at every stage of their journey.
READ MORE: Why are some women’s clubs affiliated with men’s? A women’s football club explainer – SYWF
Yet progress remains uneven. Just 12% of qualified coaches in England are women, and there is still a further drop-off at the higher levels of the game. Far from a pipeline, the current progression system seems to be more of a bottleneck.
For coaches like Molly, Hannah and Samantha, the work isn’t just technical, it’s transformative. Their stories show what’s possible, but also what’s still missing. The game may be growing, but without women on the sidelines, half the talent is left behind.
The leadership and authority that is associated with coaching roles is another reason why it’s vital that women are calling the shots in their own game. For girls to believe they belong in football, not just as players, but as leaders, they need to see women not watching from the sidelines, but shaping the game itself.
