There is now a clear player pathway for girls entering the game, which provides a structure for those who are talented and committed enough to reach the top levels of the game.
1. Football in the Curriculum
The FA is working closely with schools to develop more opportunities for girls to play within designated PE lessons. In 2002 a Sport England survey showed that only 13 per cent of girls had access to football coaching in PE lessons, yet football is the sport of choice for girls (UK Sport/Nike study, 2001). 52% of all girls have no experience of ever playing football and 331,000 of girls who currently play kick about football would like to join a football team (FA National Game Strategy Research 2007)
The FA’s Football Development teams, which include some specific Education Officers as well as Women's Officers, provide a support network to ensure opportunities are offered, teachers achieve FA curriculum related qualifications and schools have access to approved equipment.
2. Schools Teams and Competitions
Schools’ competitions, leagues and festivals for both primary and secondary aged girls are offered in every County by the Schools Football Associations and County FA’s. In additional to this the ESFA run national competitions for girls at all ages.
3. School Club Link
The FA School–Club Link Programme is football’s commitment to the delivery of the Physical Education and School Sport Club Links (PESSCL) strategy document, which sets out to ensure that all children, whatever their circumstances or abilities, should be able to participate in and enjoy physical education and sport.
Through the delivery of The FA National Framework, the project sets out to increase the number of young people playing in a FA accredited Charter Standard or Ability Counts Club. It also aims to develop sustainable relationships between schools and local clubs to provide a clear pathway to enable young people the chance to continue their football participation.
This programme has initiated a substantial number of girls’ only courses, under the banner of 3 Lions FC, all over the Country. Over 12,500 girls participate in the FA School Club link programme every year with an estimated 300 new teams being created annually.
4. Club Football
Primary school aged girls get their first taste of playing club football with Mini Soccer. The game is played on small pitches with small goals and can be played by mixed or single-gender teams. Once a girl reaches secondary school age she then can progress onto 9v9 or the traditional 11 a-side football. Futsal (FIFA -aside) is also just being introduced to girls and women.
5. Centres of Excellence
There are 52 licensed FA Centres of Excellence in operation across England. These Centres provide weekly quality coaching and a localised fixture programme for talented girls from the age of 8-16. The FA provides a substantial grant per season to each Centre to assist with the running of their programmes and gives them direction. Each Centre is either attached to a County FA, a County Sports Partnership or a men’s professional club.
6. National Development Centre and Youth Teams
In 2001 The FA launched a National Player Development Centre at Loughborough University. This national academy takes applications from approximately 20 players per academic year on a fully-funded football scholarship for up to four years.
The Centre is managed by Coach Lois Fidler and provides coaching from Monday-Friday, alongside the players continuing their education.
There has been a huge success rate of players at the Centre representing England from Under-17 through to Senior level, notably Casey Stoney, Amanda Barr and most recently Karen Carney.
Since Hope Powell assumed her position as National Coach in 1998, four England youth teams have been introduced. The Under-15s side currently meets for training camps and is an early introduction to international exposure. The U17 side, managed by Lois Fidler, plays regularly in annual European qualifying tournaments. The U19 side is managed by former England captain Mo Marley and qualifies regularly for annual European Finals, with a FIFA World Championship every two years.
The Under-23 side was launched in 2004 to bring England into line with the leading nations in women’s football. England has competed to good effect in the annual Nordic Cup competition alongside the Scandinavian nations, Germany and USA; the team finished third in 2005 and is managed by Assistant National Coach Brent Hills. The first home international was played in November 2006 and achieved a crowd of 5,000 at Exeter City in a friendly international against France.
7. England Senior Team
The England Senior team is ranked 11th in the world and their best tournament finish was a runners-up spot in the 1984 European Championship. The National Coach is Hope Powell, a former player who amassed 66 caps and scored 33 goals from midfield. Hope hung up her playing boots when she took over as the first full-time manager (and The FA’s first female and first black national coach) in June 1998. Hope has received an OBE for her services to the game and was the first female coach to earn the UEFA Pro-License – the highest football coaching qualification available.