International Women's Day: FC Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde says a woman will one day manage Barca's men's team
FC Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde has predicted that a woman will one day coach the Barca men's team.
Answering a question about women's football on International Women's Day, Valverde highlighted the huge progress being made and suggested there would be bigger, more significant steps to come.
"The truth is that the football world is taking big steps forward in recent times," said Valverde. "It's unstoppable that women are going to have more presence.
"Women's football is making tremendous progress and there are clear examples of what it is achieving.
"In men's football too there is more of a female presence and this will keep advancing further.
"With time, there could be a woman managing Barca."
Women coaches have struggled to make an impact in men's football but progress is gradually being made. French second division side Clermont Foot appointed Helena Costa as their coach in 2014 but she quit inside months citing the club's "amateurism" as a problem. She was replaced by Corinne Diacre, who spent three years with the club before returning to the women's game as France manager.
In the NFL, Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians announced last week that he is creating a full-time position for a female coach on his staff.
Arians made Jen Welter the first-ever female NFL coach during his time with the Arizona Cardinals. An exact timeline for the new position to begin has not been set, but Arians said it could be in place for the upcoming season and he believes the coaching pool is now deep enough to warrant a new position being created.
