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As women’s soccer continues to grow around the world, FIFA is putting new focus on something the game has too often treated as secondary: the health, wellbeing and performance needs of female athletes.
The organization has launched the FIFA Female Health and Performance Project, a global education initiative that provides science-based knowledge tailored to female players. The project includes 30 online modules across 13 topics, with resources for players, coaches, medical staff, parents, the general public and all 211 FIFA Member Associations.
The project responds to a long-standing gap in sport science. FIFA points to research showing that, between 2014 and 2020, only 34% of participants in sport and exercise science studies were women, while just 6% of sport science research focused exclusively on women.
That need extends beyond soccer. In an article from Penn State University on the updated international consensus statement on female athlete health, Mary Jane De Souza, distinguished professor of kinesiology, called the work “crucial to advancing the health, well-being and participation of female athletes.”
For years, many coaching methods, recovery plans, workloads and performance systems were built around research centered on men. For women players, that can affect everything from injury prevention and strength training to whether topics like periods, pregnancy, pelvic health or menopause are discussed openly at all.
“Collectively, we can do so much more to better support our growing number of female players and ensure they are trained, supported and understood according to their specific needs as women,” said Dame Sarai Bareman, FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer.
Through the project, FIFA is offering education across topics including physiology, menstrual health tracking, pregnancy and postpartum, fertility, menopause, pelvic health, nutrition, recovery, sleep, strength and conditioning, screening and injury prevention. The modules range from introductory content to more advanced guidance, making the resources accessible to people at different levels of the game.
The initiative also builds on programming delivered ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, when 10 national teams piloted the specialized support. With the next tournament set for Brazil in 2027, the expanded platform gives every Member Association access to peer-reviewed, female-specific education.
For the sport-for-change sector, the project is a reminder that access cannot stop at getting more girls and women onto the field. It also must include the knowledge, care and everyday support that help them stay there, stay healthy and be understood.
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