Football Queensland announce female-only C Diploma course

Matthew Badrov17/06/2022 6:05 am16/06/2022

Football Queensland (FQ) has confirmed the exciting details of a female-only C Diploma course, which is set to begin this November.

The course will kick off at The Lakes FC on Friday, November 25 and will be just the second ever female-only C Diploma held in Queensland.

FQ CEO Robert Cavallucci expressed his excitement at the announcement of the course.

“As the growth of the game is underpinned by the quality and number of our coaches, Football Queensland is committed to supporting that growth by improving education and development opportunities for coaches across the state,” he said in a statement to FQ.

“With the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 approaching, there has never been a better time to embrace the potential of our female coaches here in Queensland by delivering tailored development opportunities specifically for those who are looking to progress into a more advanced coaching space.”

FQ Club Development Ambassador – Head of Coaching Davide Bertamini added the course is a fantastic opportunity for female coaches to gain new qualifications, while also providing a launchpad for future courses to be held across the state.

“The C Diploma is a crucial aspect of the AFC/Football Australia pathway and provides the necessary foundation to improve upon all technical aspects of the game,” he said via Football Queensland.

“Providing high-quality education opportunities for our female coaches is essential to the growth of our game which is why we are committed to delivering more female-only coaching courses not only this year but in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

“We’re excited to host Queensland’s second ever female-only C Diploma course later this year, and will also be introducing new measures to assist female coaches in the transition from community level coaching to the next stage of the coaching pathway.”

The female-only C Diploma course will be held across several days beginning in November 2022 and finishing in March 2023.

Registrations can be made via the link here.

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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.