AFC launches second edition of Empowering Women in Football Programme

The Asian Football Confederation has opened the second edition of its AFC Empowering Women in Football Programme, a six-month online course aimed at developing women leaders across football administration, commercial strategy and governance.The AFC said the programme will support 33 participants and is built to deepen understanding of the global football environment while promoting gender diversity, equity and inclusion.The confederation is positioning the initiative as a practical leadership pathway, focusing on ethical decision-making, strategic planning and collaboration in order to help participants navigate structural barriers that can limit progression into senior roles.The course content is designed to cover both the historical context of women’s football and the modern business and operating environment, including organisational innovation and integrity-related topics.Programme modules include a historical overview of women in football, women’s strategic impact in football business environments, and approaches to overcoming industry barriers.Later modules focus on empowering women in executive leadership roles, leading organisational innovation, and ethics, integrity and governance in football business environments.The AFC’s move comes as confederations and leagues across global football continue to formalise leadership and education pipelines alongside on-pitch investment, with a growing emphasis on building administrative capacity inside member associations and clubs.Women’s football has also become a more material commercial property across Asia, increasing the need for specialised expertise in competition operations, sponsorship, media, marketing, fan development and high-performance planning.By delivering the programme online, the AFC is seeking to lower participation barriers across a geographically large footprint, where travel costs and time away from day-to-day roles can limit access to in-person education.The second edition follows the AFC’s broader push into structured education products across the confederation, as it looks to standardise operating practices and accelerate professionalisation across its member associations and regional bodies.The AFC has not detailed selection criteria or participant breakdown in its announcement, but said the programme is intended to help graduates apply strategic and collaborative approaches within their organisations and across the wider football ecosystem.