International Women's Day 2026: Driving progress for women on and off the pitch
Friday, March 6, 2026
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We celebrate the continued growth of women's football and women in football across Europe and reaffirm our commitment to accelerating that momentum.
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Players on the pitch, referees applying the laws of the game, coaches on the touchline and supporters in the stands – on any given matchday, women are contributing to football in countless ways, and their impact reaches far beyond the pitch.
As the women’s game continues to grow, we are committed to building a sustainable environment that supports everyone within it. At the same time, more women are embracing key roles across the wider game, including in men’s football, and their presence is helping to shape its future. Our priority is to ensure they feel supported, valued and empowered.
This International Women's Day, we highlight how we are turning these ambitions into reality.
Unstoppable: UEFA women's football strategy
Guiding the growth of the game is Unstoppable, which, by 2030, aims to make women's football:
- The most-played team sport for women and girls in every European country, through developing football pathways for players, coaches and referees alongside grassroots opportunities
- The home of the world's top players, with six fully professional leagues and 5,000 fully professional players across the continent
- The most sustainable and investable women's sport, with record-breaking UEFA competitions
- Celebrated for its unique values and community, where everyone believes they can have a place in women's football.
Players: Raising standards on and off the pitch
The expansion of the UEFA Women's Champions League and the creation of the UEFA Women's Europa Cup have opened up more opportunities than ever for players to compete at the highest level of club football and test themselves on the continental stage.
UEFA Women's EURO 2025 marked another milestone, delivering record-breaking attendances while showcasing the very best of the European game. For the first time at a Women's EURO, players were rewarded for their performances, receiving a guaranteed share of the prize money awarded to their national association.
But progress is not measured only by what happens on the pitch. With a firm belief that players are at the centre of the game's DNA, we are committed to ensuring their welfare is at the heart of our decision-making.
Health topics are at the heart of our ongoing efforts to make the game safer and fairer for women. Our new OWN IT video series empowers players with expert knowledge on key topics such as physical activity during pregnancy and motherhood, menstrual health, and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention. The materials and resources available, such as the menstrual tracking report, stem from UEFA research.
Choosing the right sports bra
Choosing the right sports bra can make a real difference to comfort, confidence and performance. Studies show that most elite players and match officials experience breast or bra issues, from pain to poor support, and many have never been professionally fitted. Yet when athletes receive proper guidance and personalised recommendations, breast pain drops and support improves significantly. The message is simple: the right fit matters.
Download our guide to choosing the right sports bra and make sure you’re getting the support you need.
Coaches: Creating pathways to leadership
We want to increase the number of licensed female coaches working in the game at all levels, from elite club and national teams to developing the next generation of girls at grassroots level.
The UEFA Coach Development Programme for Women provides a path to obtaining UEFA-certified coaching licences, whether for those taking their first steps in coaching or more experienced leaders looking to reach the elite level. Through financial support and scholarships, the programme opens doors for ambitious female coaches across Europe.
The impact is tangible. By 2024, the number of female coaches possessing UEFA C, B, A or Pro licence qualifications had risen dramatically to over 25,000 - an increase of 75% in just eight years.
Alongside formal qualifications, mentorship plays a crucial role. Launched in 2019, the UEFA Coach Mentor Programme pairs aspiring elite coaches who hold UEFA A or Pro licences with experienced figures from the top of the game.
The aim is simple – to provide the next generation of leaders with the confidence to advance their careers by learning from some of the best in the business.
Latvia's Liene Vāciete on the benefits of UEFA's Coach Mentor Programme
For Latvia's national team coach Liene Vāciete, her experience on the UEFA Coach Mentor Programme with former Scotland and Finland head coach Anna Signeul was transformative.
"The programme is extremely important for professional development," she said. "There are so many things that are unknown and, in some ways, scary in our profession, but the programme gives you someone who has been through most of these experiences and knows what you will have to face.
"Without Anna's support and presence, I doubt I would have been ready to become Latvia's head coach. Her words certainly had an impact, and for that I will always be grateful."
Officials: Supporting referees at every step
Building a more inclusive game means ensuring female referees are supported and developed alongside players and coaches.
We held our first-ever Women's Referee Symposium last month, equipping national associations with the tools to build sustainable pathways for female officials, from grassroots to elite.
Opportunities to officiate at the top level are also increasing. The new women's club competition system means more matches and greater exposure for Europe's current and future generation of elite female referees. These officials are being supported to meet the demands of the revamped structure, attending two courses per season, with additional mentoring opportunities.
On the international stage, the women's game now benefits from best-in-class technology for officials. UEFA Women's EURO 2025 used the exact same technology as at the men's EURO 2024, including video assistant referee (VAR), goal-line technology (GLT), connected ball technology and semi-automated offside technology (SAOT).
Grassroots: Inspiring the next generation
Ensuring high participation rates among girls is essential to the future of the women's game.
Since its launch in 2020, UEFA Playmakers has given more than 161,000 girls a fun and safe introduction to football through movement, play and the magic of Disney storytelling.
Now active in 46 national associations, the programme is designed not only to attract girls to the game, but to give them the confidence to continue their journey.
At the same time, our Football in Schools programme has transformed access to the sport across Europe. Between its launch in 2020 and September 2024, it introduced 7.2 million children – including millions of girls – to football, embedding the game within educational systems and strengthening links between schools and local clubs.
Supporters: Growing fanbases with purpose
In the stands, the rise of women’s football is unmistakable. Few moments captured this better than UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, where more than 95,000 fans joined pre‑match walks across the tournament, a vivid celebration of the game’s growing culture.
Through Unstoppable and our collaboration with Football Supporters Europe, we are helping shape an authentic supporter culture that reflects the unique identity of the women’s game. That means understanding fans better, elevating matchday experiences and ensuring growth is sustainable across the entire season.
Our commitment also extends to the men’s game: ensuring women feel welcome, represented and empowered in the stands, and recognising the vital role they play in building positive, inclusive atmospheres.
Stories from women in the stands
For Lucia Thum, Supporter Liaison Officer at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, breaking stereotypes is part of the job.
“I still get surprised looks when I say that I work professionally with football fans. Challenging exactly these assumptions is what drives me.”
She notes that fandom, and the roles around it, are still too often viewed as “a men’s space”. But for her, working with supporters has nothing to do with gender:
“Working in football management is not about being male, it’s about competence, passion and perspective. Women have a rightful place in football, and they enrich the game with new perspectives, empathy and different ways of thinking.”
She shares her message to other women:
“Go your own way, stay true to yourselves, and have the courage to do things differently. Fresh perspectives lead to creative solutions. That’s exactly why women help shape the future of football.”
Agnes Gertten, chair of Malmö FF’s fan‑led Supporterhuset and board member of the Swedish Football Supporters Union, is another woman driving cultural change.
“For me, as a woman in football, the main thing has always been to bring in the perspective that only we can bring. It’s about broadening discussions and opening doors for those who come after me, just like others did for me.”
The journey, she admits, is not always easy, but solidarity makes a difference:
“The sisterhoods you find along the way are real and so strong.”
Ultimately, her vision is simple:
“We are football supporters, not female supporters, just supporters like anyone else.”