Wittmann first female coach among men in German professional football

NOS Football•today, 6:45 PM

Sabrina Wittmann is the first female coach in German professional football for men. The 32-year-old Wittmann will become head coach at FC Ingolstadt, which plays in the third Bundesliga.

She succeeds Michael Köllner, who was removed from his position earlier this week. Wittmann trained all the boys under 19 at the club from Bavaria. She will stay at least until the end of this season.

“There is no other place where I would rather have made my debut. Ingolstadt is very special for me, the club from my hometown,” said Wittmann. “I started here nineteen years ago, was a player myself and took my first steps as a coach here.”

Ingolstadt is currently eleventh in the third division.

Wittman’s appointment is not an isolated event. At the end of last year, Marie-Louise Eta (32) made the step to assistant coach at Union Berlin, which is 14th in the German Bundesliga.

In the Netherlands, Sarina Wiegman was the first female coach of a paid men’s team. She was an assistant coach of Jong Sparta in 2016. Sherida Spitse recently said that after her active career as a football player for the Dutch national team and Ajax, she hopes to become a trainer in men’s football.

In professional men’s football, women are increasingly making their way into staff and as referees, although this is not yet very common. In July 2023, Hannah Dingley briefly became the first woman to manage Forest Green Rovers in the English fourth division.

In France, Corinne Diacre coached Clermont for three seasons from 2014, which then played in the second division.