QualiFT

On April 24, 2026, the fifth meeting of the QualiFT project—funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Science and hosted by the German Sport University—took place.

In addition to providing insight into the current research being conducted as part of the project, the meeting was used in particular to jointly evaluate opportunities for transferring the results into practice. A central point of discussion was the integration of the project findings and the resulting recommendations for action into the Women Coaches Symposium, which will take place on July 2, 2026, at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. In addition, the project partners worked out which formats and content are suitable for the planned digital toolkit for clubs and associations. 

We thank our project partners for their insights and the lively exchange. We look forward to discussing our findings—as well as the promotion of female coaches in general—at the Female Coaches Symposium together with our project partners and other representatives from sports, politics, and academia.

On December 5, 2025, the fourth meeting of the QualiFT project—funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Science—took place at the German Sport University. In addition to the project partners, the project’s scientific advisory board also participated in part of the meeting this time.

The meeting was divided into two parts: In the first part, the project team reported on the current status and discussed selected results from the sub-studies with the participants, including the question of

• how different assessments by female coaches are reflected in the various data types,
• how general and gender-specific barriers emerge in the data, and
• how the results from the different data sources can best be integrated to achieve effective knowledge transfer.

The second part focused on planning the trainer symposium to be held in Cologne on July 2, 2026. Together, the project partners worked out how to address the needs and expectations of different stakeholder groups at the event. More information about the event will follow shortly!

We thank the project partners and the scientific advisory board for the critical discussions and look forward to continuing our collaboration on the project. Thanks to the project’s extension until September 30, 2026, this collaboration can continue beyond the original project period. Many thanks to the Federal Institute for Sports Science for its trust!

From November 20 to 23, a delegation from the BISp-funded QualiFT project team (Training Women for Coaching Careers) of the Institute for Sports Sociology and Gender Research and the Institute for European Sports Development and Leisure Research participated in the 15th ICCE Global Coach Conference in Athens.

As part of the session “Gender Equity in Coach Education and Professional Pathways,” the team—consisting of Prof. Dr. Astrid Schubring, Prof. Dr. Karen Petry, Huihan Ye, and Jule Wagner, presented its preliminary research findings and discussed them with a high-profile international panel of researchers and representatives from sports organizations in Brazil (Prof. Dr. Larissa Galatti, State University of Campinas), Germany (Wiebke Fabinski, DOSB), Australia (Michelle de Highden, Australian Institute of Sport), and New Zealand (Pauline Harrison, NZ Olympic Committee Women’s Leadership & ICCE). The experts compared differences and similarities between their countries and discussed promising practices and challenges in recruiting and retaining women in elite sports. The findings from the discussion will inform the project’s future work.

It was inspiring for the project team delegation to meet so many people who are committed to supporting coaches worldwide. We are also pleased to congratulate master’s student Huihan Ye on her first presentation at an international conference. Many thanks to the ICCE team for organizing the conference so well and to all participants who enriched the discussions with their experiences.

On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, three members of the QualiFT research team attended the 2025 dvs University Day in Münster. As part of the symposium “Women in Leadership Positions in Sports: Analysis of the Current Situation and Causes of Underrepresentation,” experts discussed recent research findings on gender equality and leadership in sports. Three BISp-funded projects were presented and discussed during the symposium:

• “The Gender Leadership Gap in Sports Federations: Situation Analysis, Signaling Effects, and Role Model Effects”
  Presentation: Dr. Lara Lesch
• “Gender (Dis)equality of Opportunity in Sports Leadership in the Field of Coaches at the Federal Level (Chance2Lead)”
  Presentation: Dr. Kirsten Budde
• “Qualifications and Career Paths of Female Coaches: Preliminary Findings from the QualiFT Study”
  Presentation: Prof. Dr. Astrid Schubring & Prof. Dr. Karen Petry with Hanwei Zhang

The symposium provided a valuable platform for academic exchange on the causes of and strategies to reduce the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions in sports.

Shortly after the dvs University Day, the QualiFT project was also presented at the 18th ENSE Forum in Rio Maior, Portugal, where it was discussed in greater depth. Here, too, the focus was on sharing examples of best practices and international perspectives.

In early September, the QualiFT project held its second think tank on the topic of “Innovative Organizational and Leadership Concepts for German Elite Sports.” The two speakers, Luana Bergamin and Marina Morgenthaler from sporti{f}, presented their “Road to Diversity” concept—developed in cooperation with Swiss Olympic.

In group workshops that followed, participants had the opportunity to test the “Road” for themselves as part of a world premiere and to discuss together how it could be adapted to the context of German elite sports and the promotion of female coaches. This generated many new ideas as well as concrete recommendations for organized sports and policymakers.

A big thank you to Luana and Marina for the inspiring insights—and, of course, to all the participants and our project partners who made this event so valuable! 

We’re already looking forward to next year’s Women Coaches Symposium, where we’ll present and discuss all the project’s final results.

The Federal Institute for Sports Science (BISp) and the Institute for Applied Training Science (IAT) hosted a two-day FeMaLe networking event.
Following the presentation of the research award by Minister of State Dr. Christiane Schenderlein and BISp Director Andrea Schumacher, Dr. Richard Burden (UK Sports Institute) introduced the Global Alliance for Female Athletes and emphasized the importance of international cooperation.

The second day featured various highlights: In addition to panel discussions, poster presentations, and talks on the visibility of women in sports, a workshop on the role of female coaches in elite sports was also held. In cooperation with the BISp, the IAT, and the University of Paderborn, the QualiFT team led by Prof. Astrid Schubring, Lisa Kalina, and Rebecca Dany led the workshop and presented initial findings from the QualiFT project. The workshop also discussed strategies for increasing the number of female coaches in elite sports—ranging from better networking and greater visibility to the exchange of best-practice examples.

Many thanks to the BISp and the IAT for these two days filled with expertise, discussion, and the strong FeMaLe network.

As part of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World Conference, which took place in Essen alongside the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World Games, the project team had the opportunity to present the QualiFT project to an international audience. The presentation offered an excellent opportunity to provide insights into our work, discuss the latest findings from the first two sub-studies, and deepen our exchange with international researchers in this field as well as with current and former athletes and coaches.

Special thanks go to FISU for organizing the conference and the fantastic World Games!

The seventh “Cluster for Research into Coaching International Conference (CRiC)” took place in Oslo from June 17 to 20. Our team, led by Prof. Dr. Astrid Schubring and Lisa Kalina, presented the latest findings from the QualiFT project. In addition, they gained insights into other Europe-wide projects in this field of research.

The exchange with other researchers proved to be extremely enriching for the team. New connections were made, and numerous ideas were discussed and further developed together.

A heartfelt thank you goes to the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NiH) for the excellent organization!

On May 9, 2025, the third meeting of the QualiFT project—funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Science—took place at the German Sport University Cologne. Selected results from the first sub-study were presented, and the meeting also focused on discussing the content of the second and third sub-studies, such as the current questionnaire survey and the planned think tanks. In this regard, the project team was able to demonstrate significant progress since the last project meeting in January and update the project partners on the current status. Subsequently, next steps were planned, and arrangements were made for upcoming conferences and meetings.

We would like to thank our project partners for the constructive discussions and the valuable feedback.

On March 13, 2025, the “Future Workshop for Female Coaches: Perspectives & Potential” will take place!

This event offers a unique opportunity to work together to develop strategies for advancing gender equality in sports and giving female coaches in competitive sports a stronger voice. The Future Workshop is organized in cooperation with the Cologne Coaching Academy and the “QualiFT Project—Training Women for Coaching Careers” at the German Sport University Cologne.

We look forward to an inspiring afternoon filled with new ideas, exciting discussions, and practical approaches for the future! 

The first virtual meeting of the QualiFT project’s Scientific Advisory Board took place in late January. During the meeting, the project was presented in detail, followed by a lively discussion on key issues and future developments. The valuable suggestions and constructive feedback from the advisory board make an important contribution to the project’s further development. We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved for their support and commitment!

On January 17, 2025, the second meeting of the project funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Science took place at the German Sport University Cologne. The current status and initial findings of the ongoing sub-studies were presented, which will serve as the basis for the next steps.

The focus was on the gender-specific training and employment conditions of female coaches in elite sports, which are currently being statistically analyzed using existing datasets from selected organizations in Olympic, non-Olympic, and Paralympic elite sports. Afterward, the project partners took the opportunity to exchange ideas in discussion groups and jointly plan the next steps.

We would like to thank our project partners for the stimulating discussions and constructive exchange. 

• On January 17, 2025, the second project meeting for the “Female Coaches – Training Women for Coaching Careers (QualiFT)” project will take place at the German Sport University Cologne. The DSHS team will present the project’s initial progress report and discuss the next steps together with the project partners.
• Together with the Women Coaches Working Group of the DOSB’s Cologne Coaching Academy, the QualiFT project team will host the event “Future Workshop for Women Coaches: Perspectives & Potential” on March 13, 2025, starting at 1:00 p.m. at the Cologne Coaching Academy, Guts-Muths-Weg 1, 50933 Cologne. Through a keynote presentation and interactive workshops, the event aims to develop concrete solutions to empower female coaches in elite sports and advance gender equality in sports.
• In addition, the scientific advisory board of the QualiFT project will hold its first virtual meeting at the end of January.

On October 11, 2024, the kick-off meeting for the project “Female Coaches – Training Women for Coaching Careers (QualiFT)” took place at the DSHS.

The full article can be found at the following link:

https://www.dshs-koeln.de/institut-fuer-soziologie-und-genderforschung/news/

https://www.dshs-koeln.de/aktuelles/meldungen-pressemitteilungen/detail/meldung/projektstart-trainerinnen-qualifizierung-von-frauen-fuer-den-trainerberuf/

News from the Federal Institute for Sports Science (BISp)

As part of the FeMaLe network event “Women and Girls in Competitive Sports” held on September 2–3, 2025, in Leipzig, strategies were developed in cooperation with the Federal Institute for Sports Science (BISp) and the Institute for Applied Training Science (IAT) to attract more female coaches to elite sports.

In the workshop “Female Coaches in Elite Sports,” led by the QualiFT team in cooperation with the BISp, the IAT, and the University of Paderborn, initial findings from the QualiFT project were presented, and approaches for greater networking, visibility, and best practices were developed.

The newly published fact sheet “Female Coaches in Competitive Sports” provides a concise summary of the workshop’s findings: It identifies the causes of the underrepresentation of female coaches, outlines a vision for 2035 aimed at improving conditions for coaches, and presents concrete strategies and examples of best practices for promoting female coaches.

Click here to download the fact sheet.