“Long ball” and “balls deep”: a critical reading of female coach-learners’ experiences of the UEFA A licence

Abstract

In this article we present a critical reading of female coach-learners' experiences of the Union of European Football Association's Advanced Licence (UEFA A), which at the time of writing have been largely ignored. It comes at a point when The Football Association's policy, the 2017-2020 Gameplan for Growth Strategy, which focuses on the women's game, has been completed. We wanted to understand better the challenges faced by female coaches as they navigate their way through the male-dominated educational programmes. We interviewed nine female UEFA A Licence holders who had participated in differing cohorts across a ten-year span. Interpreting the female coach-learners' experiences through a critical and broadly poststructuralist lens reveals how the language, structure and assumptions inherent in the course affect female coach-learner experiences. The data exposes a catalogue of androcentric assumptions, toxic masculinity, sexualised language, dismissive practices, ignorance of the women's game, and acts of resistance.

“I'm a Referee, Not a Female Referee”: The Experiences of Women Involved in Football as Coaches and Referees

“…Despite these developments, it is striking to note that the material experiences of women within football have seen little change. In many respects, these accounts reflect those found in previous research; it might seem that there is nothing new here (Welford, 2011;Jones and Edwards, 2013;Forbes et al, 2015;Sawiuk et al, 2021). Yet importantly, this lack of change highlighted in our findings itself tells a bigger storey about the importance of understanding the ways in which strategic endeavours are re-negotiated within football clubs and teams; new policies may be introduced, but their rhetoric becomes easily lost in the ever-pervasive gender discourse of football.…”

“…The coach education process has been identified as a particular concern and remains an overwhelmingly male dominated arena, with coach educator roles largely taken up by men (Fielding-Lloyd and Meân, 2008;Schlesinger and Weigelt-Schlesinger, 2012;Norman, 2014;Lewis et al, 2018;Fasting et al, 2019). This results in women feeling "unwelcome" in the coach education environment, which is further exacerbated by the behaviours and language used by male coach educators, who favour traits they perceive to be associated with masculinity Meân, 2008, 2011;Lewis et al, 2018;Sawiuk et al, 2021). Sawiuk et al (2021), in their study of women undertaking The FA's UEFA A licence coaching programme, also note how the inappropriate language and behaviour of other (men) coach learners often goes unchallenged, further contributing to the androcentric nature of the coaching pedagogical environment.…”

“…This results in women feeling "unwelcome" in the coach education environment, which is further exacerbated by the behaviours and language used by male coach educators, who favour traits they perceive to be associated with masculinity Meân, 2008, 2011;Lewis et al, 2018;Sawiuk et al, 2021). Sawiuk et al (2021), in their study of women undertaking The FA's UEFA A licence coaching programme, also note how the inappropriate language and behaviour of other (men) coach learners often goes unchallenged, further contributing to the androcentric nature of the coaching pedagogical environment. This androcentricity is further accentuated in a lack of coach education material relating to women's football, constant references to the men's game, and the coach educator's lack of knowledge regarding women's football.…”

“…For instance, there remains a lack of women in positions of leadership and management. Women are significantly underrepresented in football coaching roles; the ratio of male to female coaches in English women's football stands at 96:4 (UEFA., 2017; Clarkson et al, 2019;Sawiuk et al, 2021). This pattern of men taking on 1 This is a national scheme that aims to provide girls with positive opportunities to experience football in school through a network of 300 school partnerships, each having a dedicated expert with knowledge of girls' football in the local area.…”

“…These include: establishing a more diverse workforce; one that is well-trained, ambitious and valued; and where women feel confident and empowered. However, critics argue that such efforts reflect a superficial and largely tokenistic approach which remains limited in its potential to affect any meaningful change at structural or institutional levels of the game (Welford, 2011;Jones and Edwards, 2013;Sawiuk et al, 2021).…”