Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD) the world football governing body FIFA, will host a one-day conference on women’s football and women in sport governance.

The Women’s Football and Leadership conference will be held on Friday 6 March, at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and will bring together experts from across the world to present the latest research and information about new strategies to further grow the women’s game and increase representation of women in leadership positions.

The conference will also address the results of a recent survey on women’s football which revealed low levels of female representation across key areas of the game.

A Survey findings of 177 FIFA Member Associations found only 8% of women holding leading positions in football, as Executive Committee and Board members, while only 7% of coaches and 10% of referees around the world are women.

Among the guest speakers at the conference will be the FIFA President Joseph Blatter, FIFA Executive Committee (ExCo) member Lydia Nsekera, co-opted member of the FIFA ExCo and chairwoman of the FIFA Task Force for Women’s Football Moya Dodd, former England international and head coach Hope Powell, and FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Nadine Kessler.

The event kicks-off a year in which women’s football is in the spotlight with the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada and a FIFA Women’s Football Symposium in Vancouver, 3-5 July.

Earlier in February the FIFA task force for women's football met to discuss the creation of a FIFA Women’s Club World Cup for 2017 and the implementation of the ten key development principles for women’s football. The series of measures follows a FIFA announcement last September saying it would double the funding for women's football for the 2015-2018 cycle.

Registration is open to the general public with limited spaces available. To register visit here.