For Williams, the financial realities of post-playing life clashed directly with her coaching ambitions. "I tried it [the coaching pathway], it was not feasible to take up that opportunity. Some can take that risk, but our generation of players, we were not paid enough to go mortgage free, bills must be paid. I needed to do something that would pay the bills, and football coaching was not that."
During her playing career, Williams was highly active in developmental coaching, working with academy teams at Everton, Liverpool, and Reading. Yet transitioning that passion into a viable career proved impossible. "When you are playing you don’t have the opportunities to coach at a higher level, then when you come out the game you don’t have the money," she explained.
The financial hurdles are steep. The UEFA Pro Licence—the mandatory qualification required to manage at the highest level of English professional football—costs £14,000, with intake limited to just 24 places per cycle. Even lower-level qualifications present significant financial hurdles. A UEFA C licence, which represents the lowest professional certification level, costs £650. While subsidies exist, they are generally only accessible if the applicant is already actively affiliated with an FA-registered club, creating a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma for aspiring coaches trying to get their foot in the door.
Handyside acknowledges that these financial barriers are a universal challenge, but notes that they carry a heavier burden for women. "The top three barriers are the same for men and women, and cost was in there for both," she said. "It is seen as a bigger barrier for women because when you must work twice as hard, the risk and reward balance is more outmatched. If you are a female looking at that cost and think you will also be overstretched and under supported, that £650 will have more of an impact."
‘To get club support, you have to stay for years’
Handyside, who coached the Wales national netball team for four years before stepping down after the Commonwealth Games, is currently leading UK Coaching’s new Women in Coaching Plan. The initiative coincides with the organisation’s signing of the Brighton Plus Helsinki Declaration, an international treaty and framework designed to advance gender equality in global sport.
According to Handyside, reversing the downward trend will require direct government intervention and structural accountability. "I would love for there to be more mandates from government about coaching metrics, including retention as a performance indicator with funding attached to that," she stated.
While the drop in coaching numbers came as a shock to former elite players like Williams, it is a familiar reality for those working on the ground in local communities.
Zoe Conning balances her role as a coach at Manchester Laces, a community-focused club, with her day job as a disability access officer at Wolverhampton Wanderers. A UEFA B licence holder, Conning has spent five years coaching, which included a full-time professional spell with Macclesfield.
"There is an immense disconnect between top level and grassroot football," Conning told BBC Sport. She pointed out the structural catch-22 built into the qualification system: "For your B licence, you need another 12 months in coaching in an elite environment. How am I supposed to go to an elite club with no elite experience?"
While Conning was able to secure financial assistance to help cover the £1,250 cost of her UEFA B licence, she still had to personally fund her travel expenses to commute between Wolverhampton and Manchester to attend the course.
When it came to taking the next step—the UEFA A licence, which costs £4,150—the financial reality forced her to stop. The top-tier Pro Licence was entirely out of the question.
"Cost is definitely one of the major impacts," Conning said. "You can get bursaries and grants; but for the Pro licence, where is that sort of money coming from when you are at grassroots or in voluntary roles? It is not feasible. There is definitely more work that can be done in advertising bursaries and support; maybe something similar to student loans. Coaches simply must be better paid—so often it is voluntary or minimum wage. Anything government funded would be good."
‘People deserve respect and protection’
While financial strain affects coaches of all genders, the demands of family planning, pregnancy, and childcare disproportionately impact women.
