Curacao's trailblazer doctor on football's big stage

One woman and 47 men: that is the gender split for heads of medical staff at the men's 2026 World Cup. Dr Suzanne Huurman is only the third-ever female team doctor in the 96-year history of the tournament, serving as head of medical staff for Curacao's national men's side — the World Cup's smallest-ever team by population and size.

In 2010, Dr Celeste Geertsema worked with the New Zealand men's national team and became the first female doctor for a participating team at the South Africa World Cup, while Dr Silja Schwarz has been a team doctor for Germany's men's side since 2023. When FIFA informed Dr Huurman she was the only female head of medical staff in the 2026 World Cup, she said she didn't think much of it at first.

"I didn't realise in the beginning because it's so normal to be the only, or one of the few, women in the room," she told BBC Sport. "But I hope to see more women soon because there are a lot more women out there who are capable."

Background and career

Brazil-born Dr Huurman has worked with Real Madrid, Go Ahead Eagles and PSV Eindhoven, as well as serving as medical lead for the Netherlands Under-16 boys and doctor for the Dutch women's handball team. Curacao, a Caribbean island of about 158,000 people, is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is culturally Dutch-influenced but not a full sovereign state. The team qualified for the 2026 World Cup unbeaten, with seven wins and three draws.

Challenges in a male-dominated field

Dr Huurman is not intimidated by working in a male-dominated field, although she acknowledges there are challenges. "If you show them you're capable and you're good at what you do, then it's easy that they accept you because it's about quality and performing. If they see you're capable and you have the same goals, it's straightforward," she said. "But you have to prove yourself. It's hard to get in because in the beginning you always have a lot of people that say no, this cannot be possible. How can women work in a male environment?"

She added: "With Curacao, the whole federation was completely male — no females, not only in the medical team but anywhere. We travel with 49 people — players and staff. I'm the only woman."

Gender imbalance in sports medicine

Dr Huurman studied medicine in the Netherlands in 2008 and recalls that her course was predominantly female. "When I studied medicine, it was around 70-75% women and the rest were men," she said. "I did my speciality in sports medicine in 2014 and then it skewed the other way — it was only 20-30% women. So it was in this [sport] speciality that I saw the difference."

Female doctors did not support every squad at the 2023 Women's World Cup, with England and Sweden among the nations represented by male team doctors.

Barriers to female representation

When asked why there are so few female doctors working within football, Dr Huurman identified the 'always-on' culture as a barrier. "It's not only your capabilities — if you're a good professional that's one thing, but it's the travel, the lifestyle which can affect your personal life," she said. "If you have a family [or] you're pregnant, you will be out of work for a certain period – and you cannot time it perfectly with a professional football season. There must be someone who can cover. And that's hard as you want to be there for the team."

She added: "It's not only in football, but the whole elite sports world, which is demanding 24/7."

What more can football do?

In 2026, in an effort to accelerate change, FIFA introduced new rules for women's tournaments. The regulations state that at least one member of medical staff must be female and at least one coach must be a woman.