Page 26 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.24 2022-23

Welland Valley 0 Desborough Ladies 6

Ashton Town Lionesses P-P Warrington Wolves
FC St Helens 6v Wirral Phoenix A 1 Swallownest Ladies P-P Staveley MW
Maghull 3 Mossley Hill Res 1
Pilkington Ladies 2 MSB Woolton 0
Southport FC Women 0 Formby Community 3
University of Liverpool 0 Wirral Phoenix 3 Rushall Olympic 5 Shifnal Town Development 0

AFC Rushden & Diamonds 7 Crick Athletic 4 Saltdean Utd Development 3 Pagham 2
Brackley Town 2 Long Buckby 2
(Long Buckby won 5-4 on penalties)
Bugbrooke St Michael 3 Kettering FC Ladies 3
(Bugbrooke won 5-4 on penalties) Milton Keynes City 10 Burghfield 2
Moulton Ladies 1 Buckingham Utd 5 Shinfield Rangers 6 Caversham 1
Corby Town P-P Harpole FC Women

The Electric Ireland Elite Female Leadership programme has been launched by the Irish FA in
partnership with Electric Ireland to boost progression across top level roles for women in Northern
Ireland. It has been developed as part of the Irish FA’s five-year strategy to grow the women’s game
at all levels. It is a dynamic seven-month course based on the latest neuroscience, positive
psychology and peak performance research.
This new programme has evolved following the success of the Electric Ireland Female Football
Leaders Programme that has been in place since 2013 and has to date enabled more than 120
women to use their influence and leadership skills within sport to positively impact communities.
With a particular focus on developing future female leaders in football, the inaugural Elite
Female Leadership Programme is delivered by global speakers and Reboot coaches Sinéad Sharkey-
Steenson and Lisa Strutt and comprises mental fitness training, leadership masterclasses, and
one-to-one coaching sessions to plot out a highly tailored pathway to senior leadership within
football.
Irish FA Director of Women’s Football Angela Platt said: “This is another exciting chapter in our
partnership with Electric Ireland.
“As an association it is our role to foster more opportunities for under-represented groups to
make a positive contribution to football in Northern Ireland. This programme will help us do that
by increasing the number of female decision makers in football and create a platform where female
leaders can share their experiences and knowledge, and gain learnings to enable more effective
leadership.
“The candidates involved in the 2023 programme have already made positive inroads to
different parts of the women’s and girls’ game and I wish them the very best on their personal
development journey through the programme and look forward to seeing their future impact as
leaders.”
Six participants are in the programme’s 2023 cohort. They are: Northern Ireland senior women
team captain Marissa Callaghan, Gail Redmond, Julie Nelson, Patricia McCullough, Elaine Junk
and Colette Young.
Una Lavery, Northern Ireland Sales and Marketing Manager at Electric Ireland, commented:
“Working closely with Irish FA and Reboot to help open up doors for the next generation of female
football leaders has been a joy.
“Crucial to our Game Changers movement is creating new opportunities for girls’ and women’s
football, from grassroots to the elite, and I’m delighted to see the very real impact of the Electric
Ireland Elite Female Leadership Programme in helping these talented women secure long-term
futures within local football. In doing so we are creating a better pipeline of talented women to
inspire our future sports leaders. I wish the class of 2023 every success in their future endeavours
both on and off the pitch.” (irishfa.com)
news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk