Elitfotboll Dam har skapat en ny spännande satsning för att öka antalet elittränare inom damfotbollen. Initiativet syftar till att främja utbildning och utveckling av tränare för att stärka kvaliteten och tillväxten av damfotbollen på elitnivå.
Trots en kraftig ökning av dam- och flickfotboll har utvecklingen av kvinnliga elittränare inte följt samma bana. Med denna satsning ämnar Elitfotboll Dam tillsammans med Akea, Sundström Safety, EPOS och GameInsight skapa en långsiktig och hållbar förändring.
Sundström Safety ligger bakom nätverket EPOS och har redan tagit stora steg för jämställdheten genom arbeta med att få fram fler kvinnliga elittränare. Företaget är idag partner till många klubbar samt specialidrottsförbund och numera även till Elitfotboll Dam.
Det behövs fler kvinnliga förebilder på ledarsidan.
En utmaning som flick- och damfotbollen har är att många slutar spela i åldrarna 16-20 år, visar en studie genomförd av SvFF. En av anledningarna är bristen på kvinnliga förebilder på ledarsidan.
Framgångsrika kvinnliga tränare har en direkt inverkan på damfotbollens framgångar.
Den internationella fotbollen visar att de mest framgångsrika landslagen på damsidan under de senaste två decennierna har letts av kvinnliga förbundskaptener. Faktum är att hela 15 av de 18 senaste vinnarna i OS, VM och EM har haft en kvinnlig förbundskapten. Ett tydligt vinnande koncept, värt att investera i.
Exempel på framgångsrika kvinnliga tränare är Christina Theune och Silvia Neid som vunnit sju titlar med Tyskland. April Heinrichs, Pia Sundhage och Jill Ellis som kammat hem fem titlar till USA. Sarina Wiegman har två EM-guld med både Nederländerna och England och var nyss i VM-final. Bev Priestman coachade Kanada till OS-guldet i Tokyo för två år sedan då man vann över Sverige efter straffläggning i finalen.
Interview
– Walking away wasn’t an option
After nine years in OBOS Damallsvenskan and Elitettan, representing every Swedish youth national team, and winning the U19 European Championship, Matilda Haglund decided last fall to retire from her goalkeeper career. However, she was not ready to leave elite football behind entirely.
– Becoming a coach allows me to give back and share my experience with young, talented goalkeepers, says Haglund, who is currently goalkeeping coach for Lidköpings FK.
Matilda Haglund’s football dreams began in the small village of Järpås, 20 kilometers outside Lidköping. Through talent, training, and determination, she reached the top. Despite her career being cut short last autumn after four knee surgeries, Haglund has notable achievements to her name. Including winning the Swedish Championship with Linköpings FC and a European Championship with the Swedish U19 national team.
Since the age of twelve, there has only differed one letter in the first part of the clubs she represented, but the joy and pride of football has been just as great wherever she has been.
Starting at her childhood club, she moved to Lidköpings IF, then played five seasons with Linköpings FC in the OBOS Damallsvenskan from 2016 to 2020. She returned in 2021 to Västergötland and Lidköpings FK, which was renamed following a merger. Haglund has also played for all Swedish youth national teams, from U15 to U23.
Although she is new to coaching, she has a lot of experience from her active career to guide the next generation of goalkeepers.
– I wasn’t ready to leave football behind—it’s been a big part of my life. Simply walking away wasn’t an option, I love the sport to much. Additionally, it’s also about giving back to both Lidköping FK and women’s Swedish football.
In her initial period as coach, Haglund has been focusing on adapting to her new role, applying her unique perspective on goalkeeping through the way she organizes and conducts training sessions.
What qualities do you consider most crucial to being a successful coach?
– It’s probably a mix of many different qualities. Above all, I would say, a successful coach is someone who sees the whole person and not just the footballer, has a tactical understanding and technical competence as well as being responsive, committed, communicative, goal-oriented and constantly wants to develop herself and her surroundings.
What challenges have you faced in your coaching role and how do you deal with them?
– I coach goalkeepers, they have a vulnerable position with a lot of mental pressure where mistakes can lead to goals for the opponents. Dealing with mental pressure is therefore a challenge I deal with by acting from a psychological perspective and regularly giving positive feedback to strengthen the goalkeepers.
– I also feel that I may encounter challenges related to each goalkeeper’s playing time. To deal with this, I want to have an open communication around how the goalkeepers improve their chances of playing time.
What are your goals as a coach?
– I aim to continuously improve the goalkeepers I coach, but also myself. By fostering an environment of curiosity and active involvement, I strive to help the goalkeepers achieve their individual goals and also the goals for the team. Personally, I aspire to represent Sweden as a goalkeeping coach in the future.
Haglund envisions a future for Swedish women’s football characterized by equal recognition, resources, and opportunities as men’s football, where equality and inclusion are the norm.
What needs to be done to bring out more female coaches at the elite level?
– It’s about changing structures and attitudes in sport, to build a more inclusive and equal future. For example, it could be about working with education and development through mentoring consisting of female coaches or creating networks for female coaches.
– It can also be about working with role models and increasing the visibility of female coaches or changing the working conditions so it’s easier to combine the coaching profession with family life. Football associations and clubs need to work more actively to allocate resources to promote female leadership and support the development of female coaches, so it’s positive that Elitfotboll Dam together with partners has now launched the project Elite coaching pathways.
2024-06-25
Interview
– In every meeting with my players I want to learn something new
When the team’s coach unexpectedly quit, player Fanny Måsabacka had to step in for the remaining training sessions of the season – and got hooked right away. Today she is head coach of Linköpings FC’s W17 team, assistant coach of the club’s team in OBOS Damallsvenskan and coach for Östergötland’s F08 team.
– One of my dreams is to have the opportunity to work as a full-time football coach someday, she says.
Like Åland’s most renowned footballer, Daniel Sjölund, Fanny Måsabacka also journeyed from IFK Mariehamn to Östergötland. Reaching OBOS Damallsvenskan was not her initial goal; she relocated to Linköping to pursue her studies to become a high school teacher and played football for LiU AIF in the third division.
In the fall of 2021, the team unexpectedly found itself without a coach, with no one available to fill the role.
– I stepped in and conducted the remaining training sessions for that year, after which the club’s sports directors asked if I wanted to become the playing coach for the following season. I believe I was approached because I had consistently taken significant responsibility within the club during my playing time. Additionally, I frequently offered my views on training exercises and methodologies
Måsabacka accepted the offer and simultaneously hung up her boots to fully commit to her new role.
– When I decided to try out coaching, I wanted to give it my all. Two and a half years later, I am truly grateful for the opportunity, as it has become the most enjoyable part of my life.
In 2022, Måsabacka enrolled in football coaching courses. Within a year, she was offered the role of coach for Östergötland’s F08 team, and by last autumn, she had earned her UEFA B license. This season marked a significant advancement in her career as she took on the role of head coach for the F17 team at Linköpings FC. Additionally, she has been assisting with the club’s senior team in the OBOS Damallsvenskan and serves as a coach educator in the county.
– My goal as a coach is that I every day, every training and in every meeting with my players will learn something new and develop myself. I am passionate about my role as a coach and want to be as good as possible. My dream is that one day I will have the opportunity to work as a full-time football coach.
What qualities do you consider most crucial to being a successful coach?
– Oh, that’s a tough question. Good football skills along with analytical and tactical abilities are crucial for making realistic assessments to develop players, create match-like practices, and win points in matches. I believe that a successful coach needs to be clear and have authority in their leadership in order to successfully convey the way of working, roles and the tactical aspects from theory to reality. It is also important to combine clarity with humility. I think it’s important to critically examine yourself in order to develop as a coach.
Through succeeding in building positive relationships between players and also between coaches and players so the players will feel safe both on and off the pitch is important for both individual and collective development, she believes.
– If you manage to build trust and good relationships, it’s easier to include players in working methods and also in evaluation. It’s also a prerequisite for players to be able to receive constructive feedback and become involved. Perceptiveness is an important quality in building relationships as well as to see the individual and not just the player.
– Finally, commitment is a key characteristic. Create commitment to engage players in their own development and in the team’s processes. Encourage them to seek their own solutions, support each other, and enjoy their time together.
What challenges do you usually face in your work as a coach and how do you deal with them?
– A big challenge is the time aspect. I wish I had more time for each player individually. One challenge is to coach all players in their role and in the actions the player has as areas of development. It is important to be close to the players and coach them in their roles on the field. I need to plan carefully to provide all players with feedback relevant to situations they will encounter during matches. It’s also important, and sometimes challenging, that practices, whether for skill or matches, are as similar to match situations as possible.
What is your vision for yourself and for women’s football in general?
– I want women’s football to develop and take up more and more space every day. There is a lot going on today, which is fantastic, and it’s exciting to be part of this journey. I want girls to have the opportunity to play football on equal terms with boys. Being involved in coaching girls in football is both enjoyable and enriching.
What needs to be done to bring out more female coaches at the elite level?
– It needs to be invested in female leaders and above all it probably needs attention. It’s important that there are both female and male role models for our boys and girls who play football. The importance of educating leaders should probably not be underestimated, it is important that education is offered to develop more coaches.
The interview was created through the project Elite Coaching Pathway in collaboration with EPOS, Sundström Safety, Akea and Game Insight.
2024-06-12