A number of women will be eligible to attend free coaching courses as part of a Rugby Football League (RFL) initiative to get more female coaches into the sport.

The governing body has established two partnerships to drive the initiative. The first project with the North West Counties League will see women in Primary Rugby League take part in the free course and receive practical support.

The RFL has also backed sportscoachUK’s REACH campaign, which is a national scheme aimed at supporting and encouraging women to take up coaching or build on their experience with formal qualifications.

Fewer than 500 women are qualified rugby league coaches, and Jon Roberts, the RFL’s director of performance and development, said the lack of women in the game was “a missed opportunity for our sport”.

“There are 445 women who are qualified coaches in rugby league, and a far smaller number than this are active in coaching rugby league on a regular basis,” he said. “Our new women in coaching project in the north-west will help us understand more about what the whole sport needs to do to support more women into coaching – we will report back on this pilot project in the autumn.”

North West Counties League chair Mick Doyle said female coaches had “great empathy with the needs of the child” and said the drive would benefit the game at Primary Rugby League level.