FIFA produces guide to help club licensing for women’s football

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Women’s football has been provided with a blueprint for how to go about licensing the sport to further the ongoing professionalism and development of the women’s game at club level.

As part of its objective to accelerate the professionalisation and development of women’s football, FIFA has published its first-ever Guide to Club Licensing in Women’s Football.

The guide has been put together to encourage and enhance the licensing of clubs, specifically for women’s football.

In its statement releasing the guide, FIFA says:

“This, in turn, will strengthen player pathways for women and girls at club level and raise the overall standards in clubs around the world.”

The publication comprises a ten-step guide that FIFA’s 211 member associations can follow to set up a club licensing system, as well as an additional eight steps that will empower leagues to maintain their club licensing structures on a season-by-season basis.

Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer, said:

“The development of strong and sustainable leagues where players are in a competitive professional environment is a key area for the future development and professionalisation of women’s football.

“One of the most effective ways to empower clubs to raise overall standards and performance pathways for female players is through club licensing, thus helping them to achieve long-term, sustainable growth.

“Alongside FIFA’s significant ongoing investment into existing club licensing and FIFA development programmes, this new guide – which is a first of its kind – is yet another important tool we are providing to our member associations to help accelerate the growth of women’s football globally.”

Enhancing the professionalisation of women’s football on and off the pitch is a key objective of Goal 8, Accelerate the Growth of Women’s Football, in FIFA’s Vision 2020-2023.

The guide complements Setting the Pace: FIFA Benchmarking Report Women’s Football and the FIFA’s Women’s Development Programme dedicated to club licensing, which demonstrate FIFA’s commitment to raising the standards of women’s football clubs and leagues.

Main photo: Sarai Bareman … ‘a key area for the future development and professionalism of women’s football’. Credit: CoconutTV.

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