AFC Coach Education Conference ‘making a difference’

Liam Watson26/04/2019 3:26 pm30/04/2019

Kuala Lumpur: The 3rd AFC Coach Education Conference successfully concluded in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia on Thursday, with educators from 45 Member Associations benefiting from the engaging sessions.The three-day conference, with the theme ‘Making a Difference’, focussed on various insightful topics aimed at developing future coaches in the sport.
Chinese Football Association (CFA) Coach Instructor Lars-Sven Isecke was a key speaker in the conference where he shared his experience on the evolving football trends in China PR as well as the importance of understanding the culture of football of each Member Association.

He said: “At a conference like this, you talk to a lot of people who understand football and we can share and exchange knowledge. This can be extremely beneficial because you can learn new things from a small or big football country.

“To be good educators, they must understand the cultural differences. Football is still a uniting factor and we all want to play beautiful football and be successful, but it is important to know that if you want quality, it will take time.”

Football Federation Australia (FFA) Coach Education Director Anthony Frost added that participants will benefit from the conference which focused on educating Asia’s future coaches.

“It is a great opportunity to share ideas and it is a positive step from the AFC to invite MAs to attend. From an Australian perspective, we are always learning and improving – and we are excited to come to these events to gain more knowledge.”

UAE Head of Coaching Abdulla Hassan Abdulla said coach education is important in raising the standards of football in Asia.

“Coach education is a crucial phase in developing football in the country. When you develop coaches, they in turn develop the players. It is related so you need a strong coach education system.”

The conference covered a range of sessions including the development and implications of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 while participants also received insights into the coach education practices in Europe.

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Football NSW supports Female Coaches CPD as Women’s Football Surges

Declan Chan15/04/2026 6:15 am14/04/2026

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Football NSW has used the platform of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to deliver a targeted professional development workshop for female coaches, bringing together scholarship recipients for an evening of structured learning and direct engagement with elite women’s football.

Held at ACPE last month, the session was open to female coaches who received C or B Diploma scholarships through Football NSW in 2025. Coaching accreditation carries a financial cost that disproportionately affects women, who are less likely to have their development subsidised by clubs or associations operating in underfunded community football environments. Scholarship access changes that equation at the point where many women exit the pathway.

Facilitated by Football NSW Coach Development Coordinator Bronwyn Kiceec, the workshop focused on goal scoring trends from the tournament’s group stage, with coaches analysing attacking patterns and exploring how those insights could translate into their own environments. The group then attended the quarter-final between South Korea and Uzbekistan at Stadium Australia.

The structure of the evening mattered as much as its content. Female coaches in community football rarely have access to elite competition environments as a professional resource. The gap between the level at which most women coach and the level at which the game is analysed and discussed tends to reinforce itself. Placing scholarship recipients inside a major tournament, as participants rather than spectators, closes that gap in a way that a classroom session cannot.

Female coaches remain significantly underrepresented across all levels of the game in Australia. The pipeline that will change that depends not only on accreditation access but on the professional networks, peer relationships and exposure to elite environments that male coaches have historically taken for granted.

The workshop forms part of Football NSW’s ongoing commitment to developing female coaches through scholarships and structured learning opportunities.

Marie-Louise Eta makes history as new Union Berlin head coach

Patrick Irving15/04/2026 6:05 am14/04/2026

Image credit: FC Union Berlin

In an historic appointment, Eta will take over as head coach of Union Berlin until the end of the season.

History in the making

Previously the first female assistant coach in Bundesliga history with Union Berlin, Eta will now take the reigns of the men’s first team on an interim basis.

Currently, the club sit in 11th place in the Bundesliga table, but with only two wins so far in 2026, relegation appears an all-too-real prospect, and one which the club is desperate to avoid.

“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” said Eta via official media release.

‘I am delighted that the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.”

Eta will begin as Union’s new head coach with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout for the club’s matchup against Wolfsburg this weekend.

A step into an equal future

Eta’s appointment signals a major step towards a more level playing field in the football landscape.

Furthermore, Eta joins other coaches including Sabrinna Wittmann, Hannah Dingley and Corinne Diacre who, in recent years, have blazed a trail for female coaches to step into the men’s game.

Wittmann currently manages FC Ingolstadt in Germany’s third division, and was the first female head coach in Germany’s top three divisions.

In 2023, Dingley became caretaker manager of Forest Green Rovers, and thus the first woman to lead a men’s professional team in England.

Diacre, now head coach of France’s women’s national team, managed Ligue 2’s Clerment Foot between 2014 and 2017.

Final thoughts

The impact therefore, is that Eta’s appointment will show future generations of aspiring female coaches that men’s football is an equally viable and possible pathway as the women’s game.

The time is now to level the playing field.

And while it may be a short-term role, its effect on attitudes towards equality and fair opportunities in the game will hopefully resonate long after the season ends.