Page 29 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.29 2022-23

Fresh from their Women’s Finalissima success at Wembley Stadium, the England squad paid a
surprise visit to see the next generation of aspiring Lionesses put through their paces. The players
and technical staff joined more than 100 girls aged between 12–15 as they participated in a Discover
My Talent showcase event at Brentford Football Club’s Community Sports Trust in west London’s
Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub.
The visit had been kept a surprise and the Lionesses, who had been preparing for Tuesday’s
international with Australia at Brentford FC following their victory on penalties against Brazil on
Thursday, interacted with the girls as they took part in various talent identification sessions.
Discover My Talent was launched in August 2021 and is a key part of The FA’s approach to
identifying and developing talented female players. The programme works to identify talent for the
England talent pathway and development teams regardless of their geographical location,
background, or community.
Supported by Sport England and UEFA HatTrick funding, The FA’s Discover My Talent
programme is seeing a step-change in how talent is unearthed. Of the 1,000s of referrals being made
through the programme, 356 players to date have been identified as a real talent of interest, whilst
75 players referred through Discover My Talent are now part of a group of players being considered
for squad selection for England Teams between the age of U15–U17.
The FA recently announced changes to the women’s and girls’ player pathway with the
introduction of up to 70 Emerging Talent Centres and FA Professional Game Academies. The
changes, announced in February, were designed to unearth the very best talent in England while
also making the game more diverse, accessible and inclusive.
Kay Cossington, The FA’s women’s technical director said: “Discover My Talent is an integral
part of our work to make our game more diverse, inclusive, accessible and more reflective of wider
society.
“Every player’s journey is uniquely different and our aspiration with this programme is to help
address some of the historic challenges many have faced when accessing the game. Our ask is
simple, if you see a talented young female player in any environment in any part of the country, then
refer them and they will be assessed. We’re already seeing players from all backgrounds nominated
as part of Discover My Talent play a key part in our England development teams.”
Speaking of the surprise visit, Cossington said: “We’re lucky to have a squad of not only great
players but great people and you can really see their love and commitment to the development and
growth of the women’s game on days like this. They’re clearly an inspiration to the next generation,
it will live long in the memory for the girls who were here today.”
Leah Williamson, England captain said: “It is important girls know there is a ladder to climb
to where they want to go to. The easiest way to see yourself achieving your dream is to know how to
get there and the Discover My Talent programme will hopefully really help them. The talent that
would have perhaps previously gone unnoticed in the women’s game, because no one was looking
for it, will hopefully be the next step in increasing accessibility and diversity, making sure we are
reaching everyone who has talent and not just those who are fortunate enough to get into places to
show it.”

Keri Halliday grabbed two late goals as Northern Ireland's Women's Under-19 team came from
behind to defeat Kosovo at Seaview and finish top of their UEFA European Championship
qualifying group.
Northern Ireland started with promise, with Eve Reilly creating the first decent effort on goal
after seven minutes with a shot from just outside the area, albeit an easy one for keeper Rajmonda
Spahiu to deal with.
Lynne Carroll's side then came close with just over a quarter-of-an-hour on the clock after a
Sarah Jane McMaster free kick was almost touched home by Aimee Neal with Reilly's follow-up
falling just the wrong side of the upright.
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