As part of the “Empowered Female Coaches of Team Sports” project, qualitative research activities were organised across all partner countries to better understand the challenges women face in team sports and identify ways to improve the position of female coaches.
Focus groups brought together female coaches, female players and relevant stakeholders, including sports professionals, club management representatives, physical education and sports professors and sports decision-makers. Through open discussions and exchange of experiences, participants shared their views on gender equality in sport, the barriers women encounter when pursuing coaching careers, perceptions of female coaches and the reasons behind the unequal representation of women in coaching positions.
Empowered Female Coaches of Team Sports is a transnational project dedicated to strengthening the position of women in sport and supporting more female athletes on their path towards coaching. Led by Barcel’hona Sport Events 🇪🇸 in collaboration with KOM 018 🇷🇸 from Serbia, IWA Sport 🇮🇪 from Ireland, Futebola 🇵🇹 from Portugal, RSZZ – Handball Federation of Zagreb County 🇭🇷 from Croatia and Educazione Benessere 🇮🇹 from Italy, the project aims to break down barriers faced by women in team sports across Europe. It focuses on developing methodologies to combat sexist and discriminatory behaviour, supporting active and former female athletes who want to become coaches, exchanging good practices on women in coaching among six participating countries, and raising awareness about the challenges female coaches face and the important role they play in sport. The project includes study visits, international trainings, practical toolkits and an EU-wide awareness campaign. It is implemented from December 2025 to November 2027 in Spain, Serbia, Ireland, Portugal, Croatia and Italy and is co-funded by the European Union. 💙
