A key initiative that will empower the next generation of female coaches is underway with the third edition of FIFA’s Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship Programme commencing in Zurich, Switzerland. The 18-month programme matches highly experienced coaches with those closer to the start of their coaching journey. FIFA’s creative and innovative approach has already seen dozens of coaches kick-start their careers thanks to the knowledge they have collected on the journey during the past two editions of the programme.

This edition will see 20 women from across the globe mentored by 20 of the game’s most accomplished coaches. The mentors include current national team coaches Arthur Elias (Brazil), Desiree Ellis (South Africa), Francisco Neto (Portugal), Joe Montemurro (Australia), Nils Nielsen (Japan) and Angelo Marsiglia (Colombia) as well as names synonymous with the FIFA Women’s World Cup™, such as Tina Theune (Germany), Even Pellerud (Norway) and Corinne Diacre (France).

In addition to providing talented coaches with world-class mentors, the programme also aims to help female coaches achieve greater results in their current positions, offer coaching guidance and support on career development, and create a global community of female coaches. Included in the programme are three in-person workshops, online mentoring sessions and up to five exchange visits between mentor and mentee.

One well-known former player seeking to cement a graduation from pitch to dugout is long-serving Germany midfielder Melanie Behringer. The FIFA Women’s World Cup-winner and Olympic gold medallist, who is now coaching the Germany U-17 women’s national team, was paired with the highly-respected Pellerud. “I wish I had this [before],” Pellerud said. “I [made] a lot of mistakes as a young coach - over-confident and stupid. And if I’d had a mentor [during that] time, which was not normal some years ago, I would have avoided a lot of big errors that I [made] in my career." Behringer added: “I am still a young coach and I think I have a lot of weaknesses. This month, we spoke about one weakness and I think it’s good to even talk about my weaknesses. I think he can help me because [he has] great experience. And I think that I [will be] a better coach in 18 months’ (time).”

The programme’s rapidly growing value is underscored by the presence of Brazilian Simone Jatoba who has transformed from mentee to mentor within a few years. The former Brazil U-17 women’s national team coach is mentoring Delphine Soret, who is coaching in Tahiti. “I was lucky enough to have Corinne Diacre as my mentor,” said Jatoba. “I believe they were incredible moments and a wonderful experience, and I want to pass that on to Delphine (Soret)…..There’s so much she can learn from exchanges, experiences, everything that I’ve also seen during my career previously as a professional footballer, and also over recent years as a coach. “I think all that international experience that I gained as a mentee, the programme made me experience all of this now - it brought me something that I’m now experiencing all over again from the other side as a mentor. “I hope to pass all of this onto her in an incredible way, in the best way that I possibly can and, obviously, get her to learn a lot from all these experiences.”

FIFA Chief Football Officer and two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup-winning coach Jill Ellis said: “At FIFA our job, is to try and mitigate some of those barriers, whether it's a financial issue in terms of applying for coaching licences, whether it's an awareness issue, whether it's a support issue. “I think we should look at all the different ways that we can try and minimise the number of obstacles that exist for us to get females into coaching.”