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Sunday 8 March 2026 is International Women’s Day (IWD), and this year’s theme is ‘Give to Gain’, because when women thrive, the whole community benefits. When organisations invest in women, their whole industry becomes stronger, more innovative and more sustainable. Giving is not a subtraction, it’s multiplication.

So, we’re inviting the Women in Football community and the wider industry to come together around International Women’s Day and commit to an act of giving for the year ahead.

This is not a one-day campaign; we’re calling on the industry to support and uplift women #TodayAndEveryDay, encouraging investment in the game's female workforce for the long term, and for the benefit of all.

 

Give a little, gain a lot 

Every organisation can contribute, and every contribution matters. If your organisation is ready to get involved, here are six ways you can Give to Gain.

• Give time - through mentoring, job shadowing or coaching 

• Give knowledge - through talks, workshops or education 

• Give opportunity - through internships or placements, or investing in new roles 

• Give visibility - through campaigns and storytelling, featuring inspirational women 

• Give resources - in the form of funding, facilities or equipment 

• Give advocacy - through commitments, policies or pledges 

Commit to an act of giving like those listed above and your organisation stands to gain in terms of: 

• stronger talent pipelines 

• increased innovation and performance 

• industry leadership and credibility 

• measurable social impact 

• association with a trusted movement for change 

 

Supporting women all year round 

Women in Football has grown in influence and size over the years. Now in our 20th year, we stand strong with over 12,000 members. We give time, knowledge, opportunity, visibility, recourses and advocacy to our members and the wider industry for the advancement of football for women. Some examples of our work are:

We give time – our members have provided countless hours of valuable time as mentors via initiative such as our Mentoring Programme. This later inspired the Women in Football and Xero Small Business Programme, which sees mentors offer their time to budding entrepreneurs. In recent years WIF have also formed a Membership Committee and EEDI Advisory Group to ensure we better understand the needs of our members. Consistent feedback from these activities shows that benefits flow both ways – as mentors and committee members learn new things about themselves that contribute to their personal development.

We give knowledge – membership to Women in Football has always been free, and as a member, you receive access to our free events, webinars, resources and our YouTube video bank. It’s these exclusive events, webinars and learning opportunities that ranked highly as some of the most valued services in our latest member value survey. By providing our knowledge and expertise, we are building a stronger, more informed and resilient workforce in football.

We give opportunity – hundreds of women have found new opportunities in sport through our website jobs page and have gone on to thrive in the game. Others breaking into the industry have gained vital experience by shadowing our team at WIF events, most notably at the annual Be Inspired Conference which provides rare access to decision-makers and male allies in the game. In another example, bursaries to study our Leadership Programme have been provided to underrepresented groups, to support the building of a more diverse leadership workforce in football.

We give visibility – we champion female talent to raise awareness and address the gender imbalance in the industry. Through our Members in Focus series, and movers and shakers section in our monthly newsletters, we put amazing women on a pedestal and shout their names from the rooftops. As the adage goes, if you can see it, you can be it. To celebrate IWD, look out for a series of features during the month of March over on our news page.

We give resources – our gender equality campaign #GetOnside has welcomed over 260 pledges with a cash value of more than £350,000. These resources go directly to WIF members and have helped in various ways, from free equipment, to exclusive experiences, and funded scholarships. These pledges have led to transformational opportunities for so many of our members, helping to build professional connections within football that would otherwise have not existed.

We give advocacy – we want more women to be in the rooms where key decisions are made to build a brighter future for football. Through initiatives like our Open Doors Agenda we’re calling upon the game’s governing bodies to ensure that women working in the game feel safe, welcome and supported. We similarly pledge our support and provide evidence for initiatives that promote online safety, and we host events at iconic locations such as the House of Lords to ensure our messages are reaching those with power and influence.

 

Get involved

For IWD 2026, Women in Football are celebrating the organisations that plan to give. Investment in women is not a cost, it’s a catalyst. Give to Gain and ride the tidal wave of change that’s bringing a stronger, smarter and more successful football industry. Find out more about some of the amazing initiatives below:

• European Football Clubs: Everyone’s Game FC with Women in Football

• EFL: 150 girls joined Pompey in the Community for a football camp; Celebrating women leading the game

• FIFA: Elite Performance: Coach Mentorship programme

• Football Supporters' Association (FSA): ‘Safer Stadiums’ project shares women’s experiences at men’s game

• ITV Sport: Which women inspired you to get into football?

• Liverpool FC: Celebrating International Women's Day 2026

• Manchester City FC: Celebrate International Women’s Day with Manchester City and Send it Forward

• NI Football League: Spotlighting the incredible women behind the scenes

• PGMO: From Grassroots to the Premier League – Natalie Aspinall’s Refereeing Journey

• Player Care and Support Services Limited: Player Care Development Programme

• Premier League: The programmes providing playing and career pathways for girls and young women

• Royal Spanish Football Federation: Dream Without Limits

• talkSPORT: How to Break Into Sports Broadcasting: talkSPORT’s ‘Give to Gain’ Special

• Sky Sports: Celebrate the incredible women at Sky Post Production

• TNT Sports: Story Builder Activity Pack - Create your own sports broadcast with TNT Sports and Into Film

• UEFA: Unstoppable: UEFA women's football strategy

Please email info@womeninfootball.co.uk to share details of your plans, or to discuss how we can support you. We would also be very keen to track and hero the impact made by your commitments.

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