Helena Costa

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Dos Santos and the second or paternal family name is Costa.

Helena Costa

Costa as the coach of Qatar before a match agenst Iran women's national football team
Personal information
Full name	Helena Margarida dos Santos e Costa
Date of birth	(1978-04-15) 15 April 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Alhandra, Portugal
Managerial career
Years	Team
1997–2010	Benfica (youth)
2005–2006	Cheleirense
2006–2008	1º Dezembro (Women)
2008–2009	Odivelas (Women)
2010–2012	Qatar (Women)
2012–2014	Iran (Women)
2014	Clermont Foot

Helena Margarida dos Santos e Costa (born 15 April 1978) is a Portuguese football manager. She managed Iran women's national football team from 2012 to 2014. She was most recently head of scouting for EFL Championship club Watford.

Career

Costa has a master's degree in sports science and a UEFA A Licence in coaching.^[1] From 1997 to 2010, she coached Benfica's youth team, leading them to second place in the national championship in 2005. At the same time, she managed lower league side Cheleirense, winning the Lisbon championship in 2006. She also managed women's sides, winning two league titles with S.U. 1º Dezembro in 2007 and 2008, and taking Odivelas to promotion to the top flight as second division champions.^[1] From 2008 to 2011, she was a scout for Scottish club Celtic F.C. in Portugal and Spain.^[1][2] Costa returned to Celtic as a scout for separate spells in 2012 and in 2013.^[3]

As an international manager, she managed Qatar's women to their first ever victory (4–1 against the Maldives in 2012). On 22 October 2012 she was appointed manager of Iran's women^[4] but could not lead them to the 2015 World Cup.^[1]

She was initially going to coach French Ligue 2 club Clermont Foot from the end of the 2013–14 season^[1] becoming the first female coach of a professional football club in France, and the first in the top two tiers of a major European league.^[5] France's Women's Minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, reacted to Costa's announced appointment at Clermont Foot by writing "Congratulations to Clermont Foot for understanding that giving a place to women is the future of professional football" on Twitter.^[6] However, in June 2014, she decided to quit the position,^[7] citing "total amateurism" and a "lack of respect" from the part of the club, with the sporting director having players signed without her consent and would not reply to her attempts to contact him.^[8] Costa was replaced by another woman, Corinne Diacre.

Costa was appointed as a scout for Eintracht Frankfurt in June 2017.^[9]

In December 2022, Costa followed Ben Manga from Germany to England to join EFL Championship club Watford as Head of Scouting.^[10] On 30 December 2023, she announced that she had left her position at the Hertfordshire-based club.^[11]

References

1. Helena Costa: French Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot name woman boss BBC Sport, 7 May 2014
2. "Congratulations to Helena Costa on historic appointment". Celtic F.C. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
3. World First Top Female Boss Daily Record (Scotland). 11 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
4. "Helena Costa to become Iran's Women football coach". OANA News. 22 October 2012.
5. "French club Clermont Foot makes history with Helena Costa coaching appointment". CNN. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
6. Belkacem, Najat (7 May 2014). "Bravo au Clermont Foot de comprendre que donner leur place aux femmes est l'avenir du football professionnel". Twitter (in French). Retrieved 8 May 2014.
7. "Communiqué officiel" (in French). clermontfoot.com. 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
8. "Helena Costa: Female coach explains Clermont quit decision". BBC Sport. 24 June 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
9. "Eintracht Frankfurt appoint former Iran and Qatar coach Helena Costa as a scout". Bundesliga. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
10. "Ben Manga: Technical Director Confirmed". www.watfordfc.com. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
11. "Helena Costa já não é 'chief scout' do Watford" [Helena Costa is no longer Watford's 'chief scout']. A Bola (in European Portuguese). 30 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.