Programme-level determinants of women's international football performance

Abstract

Research question: Between 2012 and 2015, the Federation Internationale de Football (FIFA) plans to spend $44.2 million to further develop women's football. With increasing efforts in place to help develop women's football worldwide, it is important to understand the effect of programme-specific factors on the performance of women's national teams. Yet there is scarce evidence in the academic literature surrounding this issue. This paper focuses on how four programme-level factors – governance, training, youth development and early initiation into football – are associated with a country's international performance.Research methods: This study uses 2006 programme-level data from 139 FIFA member nations. The contemporaneous and longer-term associations between programme-level factors and FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking points are explored using ordinary least squares regressions. Controls for economic, gender equity, talent pool, temperature, men's soccer legacy, political and cultural factors are included.Results and findings: Dedicated governance staff and training are key correlates of successful football nations in the short term. In the longer term, dedicated governance staff and investments in youth development are strong predictors of international success. At the macro level, economic development, gender equity, talent pool and men's soccer legacy are consistently and significantly associated with women's football outcomes.Implications: These results imply that policy makers hoping to boost international performance can do so with shorter-term programme-related policies targeting governance and training, and longer-term investments in governance and youth development.