The first female head coach in men’s football history

It was inevitable, bound to happen. And yet, it is hard not to smile at the announcement of the first ever female head coach in men’s football history, especially because it could not have happened at a more fitting club. Hannah Dingley will be, for the foreseeable future, Forest Green Rovers’ head coach, leading what is perhaps the most progressive organization in the football world.

Founded in 1889, Forest Green Rovers have been your typical small, non-league English club for most of their history. What is exceptional, even unique about them, is their “green” nature. Ever since energy entrepreneur Dale Vince took over the club in 2010, eco-friendliness has been at the very center of the Rovers’ project. So much so that in 2018, they became the first club in the world to be certified carbon neutral by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. FIFA even described them as the “greenest club in the world”. It is truly remarkable how dedicated everyone within this organization is when it comes to preserving the environment, and the numerous initiatives, campaigns, and systems show it. 

For starters, upon his arrival Vince removed red meat from the players’ diet, stopped selling meat products on game days, and started treating the pitch with organic fertilizer. He also insisted on installing 180 solar panels onto the roofs of the Rovers’ "New Lawn" stadium, helping the club generate 10% of the electricity needed to run the stadium. Today, these and other panels that were added throughout the years contribute to 20% of all of the electricity needed by the club to function, mainly to power the electric coaches used by the first team and academy players for away games. This, among other initiatives, results in ever decreasing CO2 emissions for Forest Green Rovers, who saw a 10-tonne drop between the 2018-2019 and the 2021-2022 season.

In 2021, the Rovers also became the first team in the world to play in a kit entirely made from recycled plastic and coffee grounds, and the new Eco Park stadium project - approved by the English Football League two years ago - is predicted to become the stadium with the lowest carbon footprint in the world once it is completed. In addition to the many green initiatives, however, another key aspect of the Rovers' progressive values is their emphasis on women.

The appointment of Hannah Dingley as first team head coach is not a first for Rovers’ when it comes to valuing female input in the men’s game. Dingley herself has actually been at the club since 2019, managing the U18s academy team until recently. She was the first and only female coach of a boys academy team in the English Football League during these past 4 years, and also helped launch the Forest Green Rovers Girls Academy in 2021, which has since then produced heaps of female talent.

With the Women’s World Cup in Australia set to start on July 20th, this announcement could not have come at a better time. Women’s football is growing exponentially, reflected in the estimate of 2 billion total viewers for the entire tournament, a massive increase from the 1.19 we saw in 2019. This is a goal set by the Australia Football chief executive James Johnson, and the organizers have every intention of delivering on this promise.

A female head coach in a men’s team, and the biggest, most anticipated women’s World Cup ever in the same month. This cannot be a coincidence. We know the popularity of women’s football is following an upward trend, but the combination of these two events proves that something is changing: a great shift and acceleration in the sport’s pursuit of gender equality is upon us. It’s thus only a matter of time before women get to coach the most prestigious teams in the world.