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Women's football has garnered a lot of attention in the recent years with a number of competitive teams on display at the highest level of the sport. In terms of grassroots development for girls football, numerous levels of organised football tournaments and clubs have been set up in countries around the world, across different age groups.
With a steady increase in the number of girls playing the beautiful game, the number of women managers and coaches in the sport has not increased by much. However, there are some brilliant women managers in the world and here we take a look at five of the best in the world.
#5 Sarina Wiegman
Dutch women's national team coach, Sarina Wiegman recently guided the national team to victory in the 2017 UEFA Women's Euro Championship. In what was the country's finest football moment in the last 30 years, Weigman led the Dutch women to the title in front of the Dutch fans at the newly named Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam.
Appointed head coach in 2017, Weigman worked in the national team setup since 2014 as an assistant coach. Prior to her work with the Dutch women's national team, she led ADO Den Haag Women to an Eredivisie title and two KNVB Cups, during her three years at the club.
A former player for a small women's club called Ter Leede, Weigman retired after a 10-year playing career. She got into coaching soon after and led Ter Leede to a Championship victory and promotion to the Eredivisie.
An experienced professional manager, Weigman is one of the best women coaches in the world.
#4 Helena Costa
A Portuguese born football manager, Helena Costa has worked with Benfica's youth team for 13 years from 1997 to 2010. While she was working with Benfica, she also managed lower league side Cheleirense, winning the Lisbon championship in 2006.
Costa went to manage two women's teams, winning two league titles with S.U. 1º Dezembro in 2007 and 2008, and taking Odivelas to promotion to the top flight as champions in 2009.
Celtic came calling as Costa worked with the Scottish club as a scout on the hunt for good up and coming players. After a couple of years as a scout, the Portuguese manager took charge of Qatar's women team from 2010-2012 and Iran's women team for the next two years.
An experienced manager and football operator, Costa was appointed scout of German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017, as she continues to work and learn the sport in different markets.
#3 Chan Yuen-ting
Chan Yuen-ting -- 29-year-old Hong Kong-born former player and manager -- was the first ever woman to coach a men's teams in Hong Kong's Premier League. She guided Eastern Sports Club to the club's first ever Hong Kong Premier league title in 2016 also becoming the first and youngest woman to win the title.
Prior to her appointment as manager of Eastern Sports Club in 2015, she worked as an assistant manager with Hong Kong Premier League clubs Pegasus FC and Southern District FC.
After guiding the men's clubs Eastern to a runners-up finish last season and becoming the first women's manager to take part in the AFC Champions League, she resigned as manager in 2017, reverting to an assistant role in the club.
Yuen-ting claims she has to continue and complete her education in coaching before taking up the manager's role and is the reason for her stepping down as manager. However, she is a quality coach with no limits to how far she can go.
#2 Jill Ellis
US women's national team manager Jill Ellis is a veteran coach who has worked with teams over the last 30 years in various coaching capacities.
She has worked with the national team across different age groups developing, learning and implementing her ideas in practice with the girls. Ellis has worked in a couple of different roles such as interim coach, assistant coach and finally in 2014, after Pia Sundhage's exit, she was appointed national team manager.
Due to her prior work with the players during her time with the u-21's, u-19's and the national team, Ellis seamlessly transitioned into the role. The American manager guided the women's national team to their third WC triumph in 2015.
Ellis achieved in her first attempt what Sundhage failed to do as USA national team manager and win a WC. An accomplished coach with the USA, she will be eager to get past her mentor Sundhage and some of the top coaches and guide the USA to defend their WC crown.
#1 Pia Sundhage
Former Swedish player and current women's national team head coach, Pia Sundhage is an experienced, accomplished manager at the highest level. In what's to be her 28th year in coaching, the Swede is a veteran coach with bags of international experience.
She has mainly worked in clubs in Sweden and America as well as both the nations national teams. From 2008 to 2012, Sundhage was the manager of USA women's team, guiding the team to two Olympic gold medals as well as a runner-up finish in the 2011 women's WC.
The Swede then joined her home country's national team as manager in 2012 and guided her nation to an Olympic silver medal in 2016. With the 2019 Women's WC in France, firmly in her sights, Sundhage will be eager to guide her nation to their first WC triumph.
