Creating a more inclusive future for sport means ensuring that women and girls have opportunities not only to participate, but also to coach, lead and shape sporting experiences.
This was a central message of the SheCOACH Project Online Conference, held on 16 October 2026 as part of Erasmus Days 2026. The event, hosted by Dr. Megan Hill, brought together international experts, researchers and coaching professionals to explore how sport can remove barriers, support female coaches and create better environments for future generations.
Creating sporting environments where girls belong
Dr Gary Hodgson, from Leeds Beckett University and ICOACHKIDS, shared learning from the ICOACHGIRLS programme, demonstrating how placing girls' needs and experiences at the centre of sport can increase opportunities for participation.
Between 2023 and 2025, ICOACHGIRLS established 49 girls-only activity centres across 10 European countries and supported 317 female coaches through education and mentoring.
The programme was built around four important principles: giving girls a meaningful voice, providing flexibility, delivering appropriate coach education and creating opportunities for continued participation.
Crucially, giving girls a voice means more than asking for their opinions. Coaches must listen, respond and demonstrate that young people's views influence what happens within their sporting environments.
With ICOACHGIRLS+ now extending this work to adolescent girls, the presentation highlighted the importance of helping young people transition between programmes and remain connected to sport.
Changing coaching from the inside
Professor Sergio Lara-Bercial introduced the Erasmus+ Sport co-funded SheCOACH Project, explaining why initiatives supporting individual girls and coaches must be accompanied by wider changes to coaching systems.
The project has developed research-informed learning resources, practical examples and a gender mainstreaming framework to help organisations integrate equality into coach education and everyday practice.
Rather than treating gender equality as an additional topic, SheCOACH encourages organisations to embed inclusive principles throughout their programmes, policies and working cultures.
For coaches working with children, this means recognising different experiences and needs, challenging stereotypes and creating environments where every young person feels valued.
From inspiration to opportunity
The international panel discussion explored how female coaches can be supported from their earliest experiences through to leadership positions.
Milena Moulisová, a basketball coach and educator from the Czech Republic, highlighted the value of introducing teenage girls to coaching responsibilities. Giving young assistants genuine opportunities to lead activities, make decisions and learn through experience can help them see coaching as a realistic future pathway.
UEFA's Sonja Kienzler emphasised that education alone is insufficient if qualified women cannot access coaching opportunities and professional networks.
Jaejung Jung, from the European Volleyball Confederation, discussed the importance of safeguarding and creating environments where coaches and athletes feel respected and supported.
ICCE President Lorraine Lafrenière reinforced the importance of intentional leadership and supportive coaching communities, while Professor Lara-Bercial highlighted the need for coaches to develop greater awareness of the individuals they support.
Putting girls first means supporting their coaches
The event reinforced an important message for everyone involved in youth sport: positive experiences for girls depend on both inclusive coaching practice and the opportunities available to those who coach them.
By increasing the visibility of female role models, supporting aspiring coaches and listening to girls' experiences, sport organisations can help create environments where more young people feel they belong.
ICOACHKIDS encourages coaches, clubs and federations to explore the resources developed through SheCOACH and consider how these lessons could strengthen their own approaches to inclusive youth sport.
Explore the SheCOACH Project and its resources:https://shecoach.eu/
Discover ICOACHKIDS:https://icoachkids.org/
