Women's coaches attend UEFA talks

Europe’s leading women’s national-team coaches meet at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on Wednesday for a round-table discussion on the current state of the women’s game on this continent.

Final-round participants
The coaches led national teams at this summer’s UEFA European Women’s Championship final round in Germany. They include Tina Theune-Meyer, who took Germany to the European title, Marika Domanski-Lyfors, who coaches runners-up Sweden, Poul Hojmose (Denmark), Elisabeth Loisel (France) and Carolina Morace (Italy).

UEFA spreading the word
UEFA is at the vanguard of the movement to spread the popularity of women’s football, which has blossomed in the past few years. The most recent FIFA Women’s World Cup final in 1999 attracted a crowd of 90,000 spectators.

Lessons to be learned
Discussions at the gathering in Nyon will open with a review of the 2001 European Women’s Championship final round, and the lessons to be learned from the event, in view of the growing stature of the women’s game.

Current status
The coaches will then debate the present status of European women’s football, and consider topics such as player development, national associations’ structures, domestic youth and club tournaments, coach education, competition structures and international fixed dates.

Future review
The meeting will close with a discussion on the further development of women’s football, and how UEFA can play an important role in nurturing the women’s game in the coming years.

Forum for exchange
“The idea of the meeting is to provide a forum for an exchange of views between the coaches,” said UEFA’s product manager for women’s football Outi Saarinen. “We would like to hear about their experiences concerning matters such as player development and coach education in their respective countries, as well as their opinions on UEFA’s women’s competitions, and what they think are the priorities in further developing women’s football in Europe.”