Laura McAllister: 'Football would be stronger with more women involved'

Football is stronger when women have a seat at the decision-making table.

That was the message from UEFA vice-president Laura McAllister, who highlighted the importance of increasing female representation in football leadership while speaking at the 2026 IWG Global Summit on Women and Sport.

McAllister reinforced the message both in her keynote address and during a joint panel between UEFA and the Council of Europe exploring how sport can drive systemic change to achieve greater equality.

A former Wales captain, McAllister won 24 caps for her country before moving into sports governance. She was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee in 2023 and has since been appointed as UEFA's first female vice-president.

Creating space for women in football leadership

Drawing on her own journey from player to administrator, McAllister explained why creating more opportunities for women to lead remains essential to strengthening the game.

"When women are there, you can see how impactful they can be, bringing different illustrations of a strategic issue or showing where there may be a gap in the transition from an idea to impact," she said.

"I think football would be much stronger, more strategic and probably more impactful if we had more women involved in these discussions."

McAllister stressed that creating lasting change means not only helping women reach leadership positions, but ensuring others have opportunities to follow.

"I'd say: just do it, really," she said. "It's not always easy. But the returns for you personally, and for the sector that you want to promote, are incredible.

"Being in the room is important as a first step, so you need to work hard to get in the room. But you also need to think about opening the door for other women.

"There's no point being there if you're just thinking about having yourself at the table. It's about encouraging others in, so we have sustainable representation."

Laura McAllister is UEFA's first female vice-president UEFA via Getty Images

Sustaining momentum in Wales

Beyond leadership, McAllister believes women's football has never been in a stronger position.

She pointed to the continued success of UEFA Women's EURO, the introduction of the new UEFA Women's Champions League format and increasing investment across the game as evidence of the sport's upward trajectory.

In Wales, McAllister believes that progress has been driven by a clear long-term vision, with recent progress including qualification for UEFA Women's EURO 2025.

"We've been smart over the last five to seven years," she said. "We were very clear that we wanted to qualify for a major tournament, and actually Women's EURO qualification was probably a bit earlier than we expected."

Success at the elite level has also helped drive participation, with Wales reaching the milestone of 20,000 registered women and girls playing football in December 2025 – an increase of 58% since June 2022.

With the Women's European Qualifiers play-offs for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup on the horizon and the Football Association of Wales bidding to host the 2029 UEFA Women's Champions League final, McAllister believes the foundations are in place for further growth.

"If we can get through the play-offs, a World Cup qualification would be a massive achievement for a country our size," McAllister said. "We've come on in leaps and bounds since my playing career. But we acknowledge there's more distance to go."

For McAllister, ensuring that progress continues will depend on maintaining a long-term vision while creating more opportunities for women to shape the future of football.