Story added: 11th August 2022

Our new Girls' and Women's Football Strategy

For over 25 years, the Community Sports Foundation has provided opportunities for girls to try football and progress as players and people.

We have recently developed our new girls’ and women’s football strategy to further enhance our commitment to girls’ football in the county.

The strategy is comprised of three strands – Play our Game, Learn our Game, and Change our Game.

Play our Game

Be encouraged to play the game to your level.

This strand aims to introduce as many girls as possible to our game through taster sessions, after school clubs, tournaments and a new summer festival next year for U6-U8s.

We will link with local clubs and also work with some of Norfolk’s most disadvantaged areas to deliver more girls’ kicks sessions in the community.

Learn our Game

Be inspired to grow your skills and knowledge.

The Foundation are delighted to be running an Emerging Talent Centre on behalf of the FA, alongside our own girls’ programmes. The ETC will provide more fixtures, and strength and conditioning sessions along with the opportunity to play other sports.

This new centre will provide a clear progression route and complement our existing Academy Development Programme and Development Centres.

Alongside our training and fixtures, we will be providing more personal development support, the opportunity to become a young coach and attend our Premier League Inspires girls’ residential camps.

Change our Game

Be leaders to inspire and build opportunities for you and others

This strand will support teachers to provide football in schools, and players to develop a career within the game.

It will also provide a route into the Norwich City Women’s First Team.

Our post-16 Football and Education programme supports girls to continue learning, whilst improving their coaching and footballing skills. As we strive to promote our female players as role models, we will provide opportunities for players to progress into coaching roles within the Foundation.

Norwich City Women

At the top of our pathway is the Norwich City Women’s first team, which has entered a new era after being officially incorporated into the Football Club and playing their home games at The Nest. Players within our pathway are entitled to come and watch Norwich City matches at The Nest for free for the 2022/23 season, with additional chances to be mascots for games.

The Women’s team have recently agreed a new sister club strategic partnership with Wroxham WFC and Dussindale & Hellesdon FC, in order to provide senior competitive and coaching opportunities for players within the pathway, at an appropriate level for their development.

Pathway successes

Former members of our pathway include Lionesses star Lauren Hemp, Norwich City Women’s General Manager and former professional Flo Allen, and the Foundation’s Girl’s Football Development Officer Summer Ward.

Norwich City Women players Megan Todd, Millie Daviss, Freya Symonds, Bryony Williams and Kathryn Stanley are all currently employed by the charity.

Two players currently in the pathway, Amber Locker and Megan Frary have recently made England’s ‘long list’, which means that their progress will be monitored by the Football Association, and they may be considered for international call-ups should they continue to impress.

The Team

To ensure the success of the strategy we will be increasing our girls’ football staff members from two to four. The measure of our success will not only be the progression of players and our teams to higher levels but also the personal and social development of individuals and the overall growth and investment into the women’s game.