FIFA are working hard around the world to help achieve a goal of 60 million female players by 2027. The ambitious target is underpinned by 13 development programmes with all 211 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) eligible to apply for support from world football's governing body.

Last year FIFA renewed and expanded its Women’s Development Programme in a further boost to women’s football. Additional information for FIFA’s Women’s Football Development Programmes can be found here.

Inside FIFA looks at just some of the significant recent activity which has helped build the footprint of women’s football globally.

FIFA’s concerted focus on supporting women’s football has taken yet another significant step forward with an initiative designed to close the gender research gap in health and player performance. The FIFA Female Health Project is a groundbreaking project designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the female athlete, her environment, and the tailored support she needs to perform at her peak.

FIFA’s Female Health Education Modules, which will be published later this year and span four knowledge levels, aims to support everyone in the women’s game from grassroots volunteers to national team coaches. Seven articles have been published on the initiative and can be read in a special edition of the Sports Medicine Journal.

The Paraguayan Football Association (APF) continued its concerted focus on building women’s football from the ground up. Asunción was the venue for the first festival of the second cycle of the APF’s Women's Football Campaign with the participation of approximately 60 girls. Five additional festivals are still to be held in different regions of Paraguay.

The festival was followed by a Capacity Building for Administrators seminar at the APF’s FIFA Forward-funded CARDIF centre. The two-day event was attended by around 40 administrative representatives and managers of first division clubs focussing on topics such as the importance of women's programmes in clubs, strategic planning, leadership, communication, marketing, safeguarding and club licensing.

The Tajikistan Football Federation (FFT) have created an ambitious Women’s Football Campaign designed to expand opportunities for girls and women to participate in football at every level from grassroots to elite. The programme focuses on three main pillars: increasing participation, strengthening competitive structures and inspiring future generations through role models.

The FFT’s aspirations were underscored over the past month with five FIFA Women’s Football Campaigns held across the Central Asian nation bringing together over 700 girls aged 6-12, providing many of the participants an opportunity to engage in football for the first time.

The Botswana Football Association (BFA) maintained their ongoing commitment to women’s football with the hosting of a Women’s Football Campaign and associated workshop for coaches in Selibe-Phikwe. The three-day grassroots refresher course combined theory and practical sessions for the 40 participants, and was led by Barobi Nwako, BFA Technical Development Officer for Women’s Football. Participants of the course took part in a crucial safeguarding session, led by FIFA–BFA Safeguarding Guardian, Galeboe Gaboeme, reinforcing the protection and welfare of all in the game.

Coaches were then able to engage skills learnt in the classroom on the pitch in a Grassroots Festival that brought together 100 young players in a vibrant and fun day for young players and coaches alike. The BFA also welcomed FIFA women’s football expert Lorena Soto from Paraguay, who visited the Southern African country to support the initiative and observe the implementation of the campaign.

The Ethiopian Football Federation’s (EFF) long-term goal of professionalising women’s club football was a key focus when a two-day Club Licensing Workshop took place in the capital, Addis Ababa. The EFF currently runs two women’s leagues: the Ethiopian Women’s Premier League, founded in 2012, and the Ethiopian Women’s Super League, established in 2017. Steady expansion sees the two leagues now comprise 28 teams along with growth in participation and viewership. The EFF has initiated soft implementation of Club Licensing, focusing on meeting minimal criteria as a first step towards professionalising the management of clubs and leagues. “We are committed to growing the women’s game with a strong belief that it will serve as a critical foundation for nurturing talent, promoting the sport and contributing to the overall development of football in Ethiopia,” said Bahiru Tilahun Limenih, EFF General Secretary.

The road to a strong women’s football structure in Egypt has taken shape after the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) launched their first Women’s Football Strategy with the support of world football's governing body. The milestone event was held at EFA headquarters and featured a workshop that brought together key stakeholders to present the roadmap and outline practical mechanisms for implementation. Among the participants were women’s football clubs, sports media professionals, potential sponsors, and related authorities.

The Liberia Football Association (LFA) conducted a series of workshops in the month of August for club administrators, licensing officers, secretaries and sub-association officials across six counties attracting a total of 237 participants, 27 of them being female.

The LFA’s Club Licensing Programme is a landmark initiative designed to professionalise women’s football clubs across the country. The program provides a structured framework to strengthen club administration, infrastructure and technical development. The program directly supports pillar two (Capacity Building) of the LFA’s Strategic Plan and is intended to lay the foundation for sustainable growth and build upon a relatively low level of female participation in the West African nation.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) are seeking to further catapult women’s football in India following significant recent success on the international stage. Earlier this year, India earned their first qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for 23 years, while just last month the U-20 national side reached the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup after a 20-year absence.

With the support of FIFA, the AIFF hosted a Capacity Building for Administrators workshop for women administrators in New Delhi. Over 50 participants representing regional bodies, senior clubs and women’s football academies across the country gathered in the capital for a three-day programme which covered a wide variety of key areas.

AIFF Women’s Department In-charge Neha Chauhan said: “True progress in women’s football will come when capable women lead from the front, and this workshop is a milestone in that journey.”

Europe became the latest continent to benefit from FIFA’s expansive Women's Football Regional Workshop. All 55 of the confederation’s member associations were invited to the broad-ranging event for a series of presentations, exchange of ideas and interactive sessions customised to help each country reach their maximum potential. Held in Zurich, the two-day workshop was the fourth of six such workshops conducted after similar events during 2024 for MAs in the AFC, Concacaf and CONMEBOL confederations.