By David Owen
August 20 – The University of Stirling claims to have made history by appointing the first woman manager in British men’s senior football.
Shelley Kerr will take charge of her first Scottish Lowland League match as coach on Saturday, when the university entertains Dalbeattie Star in what is, in effect, the fifth tier of senior football in the country. Kerr, who won 59 Scottish caps and is said to be one of only four women in the UK to hold a UEFA Pro-Licence award, previously managed Arsenal Ladies in the English Women’s Premier League.
Kerr’s appointment is the latest in a trickle of recent announcements suggesting that female coaches may be starting to secure a toehold in senior men’s sport.
Scottish tennis-player Andy Murray this year appointed the former French star Amélie Mauresmo as his coach. French second division team Clermont Foot has started the season with Corinne Diacre, like Kerr an experienced international player, as coach – though after three games the team lies 18th in the table and has yet to record its first victory.
Kerr, who begins studying for an MSc in sports management at Stirling next month, said she was “extremely excited to be given this opportunity to lead the men’s performance programme at Stirling”.
She added: “I have always had a desire to work in the men’s game and the University of Stirling – a very forward thinking educational establishment – has given me the ideal opportunity to do so.”
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