Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot appoints female football coach Helena Costa as manager

Former Iranian Women Football team manager Helena Costa takes over the reigns of Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot.

Iran women’s manager Helena Costa has accepted the offer to manage French Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot, thus making her the first female manager to take over a first/second team in Europe’s top five leagues.

Aged 39, she started her coaching career with Benfica’s youth team as an assistant coach, and took up her first challenge to manage a senior male team after being appointed as Serie B side Cheleirense’s coach in 2005. In a single year, she helped the team secure first place in the Regional Lisbon League.

This was followed by managerial stints at Sociedade União 1º de Dezembro and Odivelas Futebol Clube before she was offered the job to become head coach of the Qatar Women’s Football National Team. She was invited to be the manager of the Iran women’s national football team which she duly accepted.

In a statement released by the club, it said: “Costa has come through the ranks of Benfica’s coaching staff, although she has also managed the women’s teams of Qatar, Iran and Odivelas. In addition she worked as a scout for Celtic. Olivier Chavanon – who has great experience and knowledge of the club – will join her as a sporting director.”

With her appointment, she has now become the only other woman to ever manage a professional men’s team in Europe after Caroline Morace, who managed third-division Italian club Viterbese.

Official tweet from the club:

Helena Costa entrainera le Clermont Foot 63 la saison prochaine. Communiqué officiel : http://t.co/EEcpSTHxpE

— Clermont Foot (@ClermontFoot) May 7, 2014