Doctoral student receives Prime Minister’s Scholarship to attend FIFA Female Health Convention

School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition doctoral candidate Isabella Coombes recently attended the second edition of the FIFA Women’s Football Convention which took place in Sydney/Gadigal, Australia on 18-19 August 2023, as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Australia and New Zealand^TM came to its thrilling conclusion.

Isabella and her primary supervisor Dr Claire Badenhorst received an invitation to network with scientific and medical experts who formulated the Female Health Initiative due to their expertise in female athlete health and performance. In particular, their expertise in addressing ‘best practice’ for menstrual cycle, ovulation, training load and wellness monitoring for female footballers, the underlining platform of Isabella’s doctoral research.

Isabella is currently the lead sport scientist for the Wellington Phoenix women’s football club, as well as age-group New Zealand women’s football teams. She completed her master’s degree, supervised by Dr Badenhorst, which addressed the impact of low energy availability on menstrual cycle function, health and performance in female footballers.

The quality of her academic achievement saw her receive a doctoral scholarship to further extend this programme of research. Isabella’s travel to Sydney was supported by a Prime Minister’s Scholarship and facilitated networking opportunities with world-leading researchers, football health and performance practitioners and other early career researchers from across the globe, all looking to advance research to support the female participants in the world’s largest sport.

Dr Badenhorst, who also travelled to the convention, says the time in Sydney was invaluable for Isabella’s research and professional development.

“We were able to meet with her external co-supervisors from the United Kingdom, Dr Georgie Bruinvels (lead of the Female Health Initiative of FIFA) and Professor Charles Pedlar (Chief Scientific Officer of Orreco). Together we finalised her first PhD project and ensured that it was aligned with FIFA Female Health Initiatives, ensuring that her PhD will support and be immediately impactful on female footballers within New Zealand and globally. Networking opportunities allowed Issy to meet with female sport science leaders from around the world.

"This provided her with the opportunity to explore what other countries are doing to support their female footballers and what can we do here in New Zealand to ensure that we match them and their efforts. Overall, I would consider the convention highly successful.”

Co-supervisor Associate Professor Andy Foskett, who facilitated the Prime Minister’s Scholarship alongside Dr Badenhorst, says, “The FIFA Women’s Football Convention brings leaders from the world of football to discuss the development of women’s football, whilst showcasing best practice to further inspire the growth of the women’s game around the world. The subject area of Issy’s research is very pertinent and much needed as we see huge growth in participation and performance in women’s football, which to date is not matched by a scientific, evidence-based understanding of the female athlete.

"High Performance Sport recognised the quality of the opportunity, the relevance of Issy’s research to female athlete health and performance, and were happy to fund her attendance through the award of a Prime Minister’s Scholarship.”

Isabella says she was very thankful for the opportunity to travel to Sydney as part of her PhD.

“The considerations from the convention and discussions with my wider supervisory team have helped shape the study into one that will take into account the real-world implications of elite sport and thereby produce findings that help to advance the research whilst still providing the most impact for practitioners.

"The additional opportunity to network with sport scientists from various elite female football environments worldwide has given me a greater understanding of how female athletes are currently being supported, what resources are available, where the gaps are and what still needs to be addressed. Overall, this was a highly successful trip as both an academic and a practising sport scientist and has opened a lot of opportunities to expand my PhD study and also to continue learning from more experienced individuals.”

Isabella is a former age-group football representative and an avid football fan and realised a lifelong dream by attending both the semi-final and final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Australia and New Zealand^TM.