Arsenal Women manager Jonas Eidevall launches scathing criticism on lack of female coaches in men's football

Arsenal Women manager Jonas Eidevall believes female coaches are the “most under-tapped resource” in professional football and criticised men’s football for not having them play a part in it.

The FA has aimed to enrich the women’s side of the sport and even ended a longstanding debate over equal pay for the Lionesses and the Three Lions.

However, top female coaches have struggled to break into the men’s side of the sport and no woman has managed to secure a high-profile post in English football.

Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes has been hailed for her punditry work and has previously been tipped as a woman who could lead a club in men’s football.

Hayes, 46, is one of the four current female head coaches to manage one of the 12 teams in the Women’s Super League.

Joining the Chelsea Women boss is Reading Women’s Kelly Chambers, Aston Villa Women’s Carla Ward and Tottenham Women’s Rehanne Skinner in the WSL.

Eidevall, who became Arsenal Women manager in 2021, has insisted that there is no reason a woman can’t “be a top coach” and they are underutilised across the sport.

“I think the question is wrong,” he told talkSPORT.

“It’s not the WSL that is the problem. The problem is that you see, in all technical staff in all the professional clubs in the men’s side, how many female technical staff do you have in the game?

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“It’s incredible when you see in all other parts of society. You can have female prime ministers, you can have female presidents, but you can’t have a female coach coaching in the Premier League for some reason? Why?

“I think it [female coaches] has to be, singlehandedly, the most under-tapped resource that is in professional football. There is no reason why you can’t be female and be a top coach.

“So, you’re absolutely right with the numbers, that it’s a big problem that there are not more female coaches. But that’s not the WSL in isolation. That’s the whole game.

“I can’t get my head around how that is possible, that still now nothing happens and that people are very content that nothing is happening.”

Topics: Womens Super League, Arsenal, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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