UEFA Grassroots Awards 2025/26: Best Education Initiative
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
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The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) are the winners of the 2025/26 UEFA Grassroots Award for the best education initiative, thanks to their Coaching Girls Module – a research-led programme designed to grow participation in the women’s game.
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The Coaching Girls Module is a free digital resource, also available as a physical copy, that provides guidance on 14 key themes specific to coaching girls. It was created by the KNVB to address the issue of players leaving the sport due to not feeling heard, and the programme has already reached 50,000 participants, attracting excellent feedback in the process.
"In the 13-20 age group, we see lots of girls stop playing football," explains Rosalie van Wetten, KNVB football development project assistant.
"The players said that in many cases the trainer’s approach didn’t meet their needs. Coaching girls requires specific knowledge. We aim to help trainers develop their skills so their coaching is better tailored to how girls experience the game."
An evidence-informed approach
The KNVB initiative is based on research around trends in the women’s game, and advances the association’s strategic goal to educate all coaches to help create safer, more supportive environments to keep more girls playing.
"Almost all of the coaches we spoke with recognised that girls need to interact and connect with each other and their trainer," explains Van Wetten.
"We find this connection between player and trainer helps create a safe environment for the players to learn and grow."
Ambassador support and in-person workshops
In addition to 14 themed videos, support also comes from high-profile ambassadors such as Roxanne Hehakaija and Esmee Brugts, while the KNVB also hosts a series of face-to-face workshops that provide coaches, team managers, heads of academies and club board members with the opportunity to learn more about the key themes of the initiative.
"We have hosted several workshops across the country," explains Van Wetten. "The workshops are interactive and allow coaches to discuss some of the key issues.
"The feedback has been really good and the trainers are very enthusiastic about the opportunity to interact with other trainers and learn from each other."
UEFA Grassroots Awards 2025/26 winners
Communicating with male coaches, encouraging female coaches
Although the KNVB want to encourage more female coaches, current statistics show that 89% of the country’s 3,000 girls’ teams have a male coach. Therefore, communicating directly with this target group has been a key consideration in achieving the project’s overall goals.
"Given these statistics it is important that male coaches really understand the needs of girls in these age groups," says Roos Brouwer, KNVB senior officer for football development.
Coach education pathways and next steps for female coaches are also provided online and at workshops.
"We see that especially females really want to learn more before they do more," adds Van Wetten. "We want to give them that push to keep educating themselves and feel confident to start or keep coaching."
Best Education Initiative 2025/26: silver and bronze winners
🥈 Silver: Fotbollslyftet (Sweden)
Fotbollslyftet is a scalable, inclusive coach education initiative that strengthens grassroots football across Gothenburg by training thousands of coaches to create collaborative, player-centred environments.
🥉Bronze: Primary Playbook (Republic of Ireland)
Primary Playbook is an innovative Football Association of Ireland initiative using football to enhance learning and well-being for 1,464 participants, creating a sustainable link from classrooms to grassroots football.
What are the UEFA Grassroots Awards?
The UEFA Grassroots Awards are presented each year to recognise community football clubs and projects across Europe that have made outstanding contributions to the game.
Candidates are nominated by UEFA's member national associations, with winners selected by our Development and Technical Assistance Committee following recommendations from the UEFA Grassroots Panel.
The awards are presented in partnership with EA Sports FC and Lidl as part of our wider grassroots partnerships, supporting participation, development and positive experiences through football. Gold winners receive €10,000, with silver and bronze winners receiving €6,000 and €4,000 respectively to support their ongoing work.
Since their launch in 2010, 157 UEFA Grassroots Awards have been presented to winners from 45 national associations.