After many years of guiding generations of female players in the Vietnamese women's national football team, coach Mai Duc Chung stopped. While VFF is looking for a successor, many people agree with the view that a female coach should be chosen. What are the reasons to convince about this ability?
First, looking at the world, the trend is changing quite rapidly. At EURO 2025 for women, for the first time there are 7 teams led by female coaches, the highest in the history of the tournament. The corresponding rate of nearly 44% of participating teams is a significant step forward compared to the previous period, when only a few female coaches appeared in major tournaments.
At the Women's World Cups, from 1991 to 2023, only about 24% of head coaches were female. But the number of championships in teams led by female coaches reached 44%. UEFA statistics, in the period 2001-2017, 12 out of 13 major titles of world women's football - including the World Cup, EURO and Olympics - belonged to teams led by female coaches.
These numbers are not intended to affirm that women coach better than men. But they show that, when given the opportunity, they can completely succeed at the highest level. They also have another advantage, which is understanding the physical and psychological characteristics of female players, the dressing room environment...
Therefore, international football organizations are strongly promoting the training and development of female coaches. UEFA has implemented the Female Coach Development Program, providing financial support, scholarships and training for women who want to pursue the profession. Since 2016, more than 2,400 women have received UEFA coaching degrees through this program.
Their goals are quite clear. For women's football to develop sustainably, women not only need to appear on the football field, but also need to be present in professional leadership positions.
Looking back at Vietnamese women's football, the idea of finding a female coach for the national team is not impossible. The previous generation including Doan Thi Kim Chi, Van Thi Thanh already have coaching degrees, if they are not ready at this time, there needs to be stepping stones, such as working in the national team, youth team environment...
In the transitional period of Vietnamese women's football, opening up opportunities for female coaches is also something worth considering.
