Manchester City and Spain defender Laia Aleixandri believes football must continue to battle gender inequality and its negative impact on teenage girls' confidence.

According to new research conducted by Revolt London, 40 per cent of teen girls lack confidence in sport.

The findings are in harmony with those found two years ago by Women in Football, in which they estimated that at least one million girls who viewed themselves as sporty at primary school lost interest in physical activity as teenagers due to fears of being judged and an alarming dearth in confidence.

And Spain international Aleixandri, 23, believes that football is not doing enough to tackle the issue, going on to list a number of reasons including a disparity in the number of female coaches in the game compared to male as well as language used to speak about women footballers and the obstructive influence of social media.

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“I’m a footballer, not a female footballer," Aleixandri said as part of Gatorade's Confidence Coaches initiative. "Social media scrutiny, lack of female coaches and even the language around the game all impact girls’ confidence.”

The defender added: "Whilst the game for women has grown so much in recent years, there is still a long way to go. Even how we call it ‘women’s football’ - why can’t it just be football?"

The disproportionate representation of women on football's touchlines is a particularly timely subject. Former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, now at the helm of the USWNT, recently voiced her concerns that her departure from club football would accelerate a decline in women coaches.

Next year's Women's Super League will see only three teams managed by women: Chelsea (Sonia Bompastor), West Ham United (Rehanne Skinner) and Crystal Palace (Laura Kaminski). Jennifer Foster will remain at the helm of Leicester City on an interim basis amid a search for a permanent manager.

Man City star Laia Aleixandri questions gender equality in football - 'women's football - why can't it just be football?' (
Image:
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Women head coaches in the men's game remains a rare aberration, with those who have taken over helms largely doing so on a temporary basis.

Former England international Rachel Yankey sees a direct correlation between the lack of representation on touchlines and the lack of confidence in teen girls. Yankey, who cut off her hair and pretended to be a boy so she could play football in the 1980s, believes young girls still face the same issues she did as a child.

"It’s no surprise to me that 40% of girls lack confidence in sport," the Arsenal legend said. "When I was growing up there were no visible female coaches and that can be really difficult as a young girl - your body and mind is going through so many changes!

"The more female role models, the more education for male coaches on the difference between teenage girls and boys the better the two way conversation will be between players and coaches."