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Despite numerous interventions for equality between women and men in sports, the number of women sport coaches has not increased. Even though women’s participation in sports and qualification for coaching has increased, the representation of women in sports coaching has rather declined (La Voi, 2014). That said, scholars argue that the underrepresentation of women in the coaching role is a cultural problem related to male dominance, rather than related to women’s personal qualification deficits (Kane, 2016; Murray, 2022). Thus, the overall aim of this study was to explore team sport coaches’ perceptions and understandings of the underrepresentation of women as floorball coaches within organized sport in Sweden, and to discuss actions required to facilitate increased representation of women in team sport coaching. Data were gathered through semi-structured focus group interviews with 16 sport coaches, 8 women and 8 men. The results show how sociocultural patterns of interactions, behaviour and perceptions related to the gender of coaches significantly influence women’s opportunities, difficulties, and choices to become a team sport coach and how the male norms are maintained. Furthermore, the study highlights how both women and men perceive that it is easier for a man to become and act as a coach in a male-dominated leadership culture.
