A scoping review of the research supporting coaching practice in women’s football – as the game grows the research strives to keep up

The aim of this study was to scope the available peer-reviewed literature on competitive women’s football, identifying and mapping the current research on supporting coaching practice in women’s football. The study reviewed all women’s football-related studies scoped by Okholm Kryger et al. (2021) for their relevance to coaching in women’s football. Additionally, an updated search was performed from PubMed (1966–2023), PsycINFO (1967–2023), Web of Science (1900–2023), Scopus (1788–2023), SPORTDiscus (1892–2023) on 7 December 2023. The author, journal, title, and abstract of all included studies were scoped. Information extracted during the scoping process included: the population, playing level, age group, environment, study type, and geographical location of the research. A total of 373 articles were scoped. The publication topic most frequently researched was Performance Analysis – Physical (20%), followed by Performance Analysis – Technical/Tactical (18%) and Maturation/Talent Identification (13%). Most studies were focused on coaching senior players (n = 207, 55%) and elite football (n = 189, 51%). Despite the volume of research growing each year, it is noticeable that there are gaps in the research. Five topics only had a single figure number of articles (Teaching and Learning Strategies, Coach Education/Development, Socio-Cultural Experience’s of Coaching, Coaching Philosophy, and Responsibilities/Role in Football). At present given there is a particular emphasis on certain playing levels, playing populations, and research topics, there is a dearth of information in certain areas. As such, researchers should work to ensure there is greater thematic depth as well as an increased volume of research in women’s football.