FIFA has launched a new education project aimed at improving health, performance and support for female footballers.<\/p>\n
The FIFA Female Health and Performance Project provides science-based information designed around the specific needs of female athletes.<\/p>\n
The online resource includes 30 modules across 13 topics, with information for players, coaches, support staff, Member Associations and the wider public.<\/p>\n
FIFA says the project is intended to help close a long-standing knowledge gap in sport science, where training methods, recovery systems and performance programmes have often been based on research conducted on men.<\/p>\n
A study of 5,261 sport and exercise science research articles published between 2014 and 2020 found only 34% of participants were female, while just 6% of sport science research focused only on women.<\/p>\n
That has meant many female athletes have trained and recovered using systems that did not fully reflect their physiology, potentially limiting performance gains and increasing injury risk.<\/p>\n
FIFA says the new project will give all 211 Member Associations access to peer-reviewed information through the FIFA Training Centre.<\/p>\n
The launch follows a pilot project before the FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup 2023, where 10 national teams received specialist support.<\/p>\n
FIFA\u2019s Chief Women\u2019s Football Officer Dame Sarai Bareman says the project is about improving support for women and girls at every level of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cFIFA\u2019s aim is to optimise every female footballer\u2019s health, well-being and performance, and to improve knowledge around women and girls in football at every level of the game,\u201d Bareman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollectively, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The modules cover general performance topics, including sleep, recovery, nutrition, strength and conditioning, injury prevention, screening and profiling.<\/p>\n
They also cover female-specific topics such as physiology, menstrual health tracking, pregnancy and postpartum, fertility, pelvic health and menopause.<\/p>\n
The information is offered across four levels, from introductory content through to integrated specialist knowledge.<\/p>\n
Bareman says the project also aims to make conversations about female health more normal within football environments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to normalise conversations around female health and embrace this, using it to our advantage instead of ignoring it or being fearful of discussing it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not a weakness; it is a strength.\u201d<\/p>\n
The FIFA Female Health and Performance Project is available to all through the FIFA Training Centre.<\/a><\/p>\n FIFA\u2019s Female Health and Performance Project covers the following topics, across all four knowledge levels:<\/p>\n Female physiology This story was first published on June 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
\nReproductive years
\nMenstrual health tracking
\nPregnancy and postpartum
\nFertility
\nMenopause
\nPelvic health
\nNutrition
\nRecovery
\nSleep
\nStrength and conditioning
\nScreening and profiling
\nInjury and injury prevention<\/p>\n