By Dagim Tekle
Founder & Editor-in-Chief, The Voice of Women Sport
The Ethiopian Football Federation’s launch of its 2018–2020 Ethiopian Women’s Football Strategy is a welcome and long-awaited step toward revitalizing women’s football in the country. Any initiative that places women’s football on the national agenda deserves recognition. However, one important question remains:
Will this strategy finally bring real change, or will it become another document that never delivers meaningful results?
Speaking at the launch, Ethiopian Football Federation President Isayas Jira acknowledged the country’s untapped potential.
“There is enormous women’s football talent in our country that remains undiscovered. We all have a responsibility to go down to the grassroots and identify girls who can proudly represent Ethiopia.”
His message reflects a reality that many within Ethiopian football have recognized for years. Ethiopia possesses talented young female footballers across the country. The challenge has never been the lack of talent it has been the lack of a sustainable system capable of identifying, developing, and supporting that talent.
From Regional Pioneer to Falling Behind
Ethiopia was once among the early pioneers of women’s football in Africa. Yet today, countries that entered the women’s game much later have overtaken Ethiopia by a significant margin.
Morocco has reached the FIFA Women’s World Cup knockout stage. South Africa has become African champions. Zambia has qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Games. Nigeria continues to dominate the continent, while East African nations such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda have invested heavily in youth development and competitive domestic leagues.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian women’s football has steadily declined. The national team has struggled to remain competitive at continental level, and domestic structures have not evolved at the pace required by the modern game.
The Problem Is Not Strategy It Is Implementation
For years, Ethiopia has produced plans, policies, and development strategies. Unfortunately, too many have remained on paper. The real challenge has been implementation.
Women’s football requires more than ambitious objectives. It demands consistent investment, qualified coaches, competitive youth leagues, modern infrastructure, transparent governance, and long-term planning. Without these foundations, even the strongest strategy will fail to produce lasting results.
Transparency Must Replace Favouritism
One of the biggest concerns repeatedly raised by football stakeholders is the need for greater transparency within Ethiopian football.
Selection processes, appointments, and opportunities should be based on merit rather than personal connections. Experienced professionals, former national team players, coaches, referees, and administrators should be valued for their expertise not excluded from decision-making. Women’s football cannot grow if knowledge and experience remain outside the system.
Inclusion Must Be Genuine
The symposium organized around the new strategy is an encouraging beginning. However, many respected former women’s national team players and experienced football professionals were absent from the discussions.
Equally concerning was the limited representation of women at a symposium dedicated to the future of women’s football.
If policies are being designed for women, women themselves must have a stronger voice in shaping those policies. Meaningful inclusion should not be symbolic it should be fundamental.
The Road Ahead
If the Ethiopian Football Federation truly wants to transform women’s football, several priorities must guide the implementation of this strategy:
- Establish transparent and accountable governance.
- Invest consistently in grassroots and youth development across all regions.
- Strengthen the Ethiopian Women’s Premier League and regional competitions.
- Develop more female coaches, referees, and football administrators.
- Reintegrate experienced former players and technical experts into football development.
- Ensure decisions are based on competence, professionalism, and long-term planning rather than personal relationships.
Our View
The launch of a new strategy should be seen as the beginning not the achievement.
The future of Ethiopian women’s football will not be determined by the quality of this document alone, but by the commitment shown in implementing it over the next three years.
Ethiopia still possesses the talent required to become one of Africa’s leading women’s football nations once again. What has been missing is not potential it is leadership, consistency, transparency, and a football system that places development above individual interests. The strategy has created hope.
Now Ethiopian football must prove that this hope can be translated into action.
