The continual relegation of women to the sidelines of football was given a good kicking when France appointed its first female professional team manager. It did not matter that it was a second-division club. It did not matter if it was, as some bad sports – male, of course – suggested, just a cynical stunt to drum up publicity for a minor team, Clermont Foot 63, currently ranking a lowly 14th out of 20 in its league. What mattered was that Helena Costa had been given the top job, a move that saw her make football history by becoming the first female manager to be appointed in the highest two divisions of any professional European league. “As a woman, it’s made me happy,” Véronique Soulier, president of the club’s supporters’ association, told journalists. “When I first heard the news, I was rather surprised, but, once that passed, we were pretty unanimous that it’s good news. We all agree that a woman at the head of a group of men is no bad thing.” The new manager of Clermont Foot 63, whose average home crowd at the stadium at Clermont- Ferrand in the Auvergne region of south-central France is around 3,800, is a former talent spotter for the Scottish Premiership side Celtic. Costa, 36, was born in Alhandra on the River Tagus in southeast Portugal and graduated with a master’s degree in sports science. She is also a UEFA-licensed coach. She