In an effort to address the gender disparity in elite coaching, FIFA passed a historic rule mandating that every side participating in its women's competitions have at least one female head coach or assistant coach. The FIFA Council approved the decision on March 19, and it will start to apply to all women's competitions later this year.

After a turbulent 2025, the Indian women’s hockey team regrouped under returning coach Sjoerd Marijne to rediscover their structure, fitness, and unity, to bounce back from a difficult phase and qualify for the World Cup later this year in Belgium and the Netherlands