Page 3 - Women's Soccer Scene 2020/21 Issue 2

The Football Association has unveiled its ambitious new women’s and girls’ football strategy. The FA’s
new four-year strategy, titled Inspiring Positive Change, pledges to create a sustainable future for
women’s and girls’ football in England.
The strategy outlines The FA’s EIGHT transformational objectives to be achieved by 2024:
● EARLY PARTICIPATION – Every primary school-aged girl to have equal access to football in
school and in clubs
● DEVELOPMENT PARTICIPATION – Every girl to have equal access to participate for fun, for
competition and for excellence
● CLUB PLAYER PATHWAY – Collaborate with clubs to develop an effective high performance,
inclusive player-centred pathway
● ELITE DOMESTIC LEAGUES AND COMPETITIONS – Create the best professional women’s
sports leagues and competitions in the world
● ENGLAND – Win a major tournament
● FOOTBALL FOR ALL – Recruit and support a motivated, diverse range of local leaders
organising football for their communities
● COACHING – Support the development of exceptional coaches at every level of the game who
are representative of our society
● REFEREEING – Ensure that every female referee afforded high-quality bespoke learning and
development opportunities from grassroots through to the elite game
The strategy will see football embedded for girls in schools, as part of the PE curriculum and
in after school sessions, setting the target that 90% of schools [both primary and secondary] in England
to become part of The FA Girls’ Football School Partnerships network, supported by Barclays. Away
from school, it pledges to provide every girl with a Wildcats programme within easy travelling distance
of their home.
Working alongside national partners, specialist community groups, and national inclusion
advisory groups such as The FA Asian Women in Football Advisory Group and The FA Refugees and
AsylumSeekers in Football network, the strategy will identify, develop and support female leaders from
diverse communities.
Crucial to the vision of more England-qualified players and world class players within our
system, will be a well-signposted, inclusive and accessible club player pathway. Supporting the
recruitment, development and transition of players, the pathway will also consider their needs from
tactical, technical, psychological, physiological, social and dual-career perspective.
Attracting and developing world class players, maximising and engaging audiences and
growing commercial revenue will be central to the ambition of establishing England as the home of the
world’s best professional women’s sports leagues and competitions.
Success with the national teams is underpinned by the new England women’s ‘Blueprint for
Success’, creating an environment for all England-qualified talent to pursue and fulfil their dreams at
the UEFA Women’s EURO Championships 2022 and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
The strategy also commits formal learning opportunities for every coach at all levels of the
game and the establishment of a sustainable refereeing recruitment strategy embedded into local
communities, clubs and Higher Education and Further Education establishments.
Integrated marketing, commercial and communications support across all levels will play a
critical role in delivering the strategy, supporting the ‘if you can’t see her, you can’t be her’ approach.
The home UEFA Women’s EURO Championships in 2022 will be a catalyst for growth across every
area. The strategy will be delivered in partnership with other football stakeholders and The FA’s
commercial partners.
Baroness Sue Campbell, The Director of Women’s Football at The FA said: “Football has the
power to change lives for the better. It can contribute to physical and mental wellbeing, it can provide
opportunities to compete and collaborate with others, and it can help to shape the place of girls and
women in wider society.
“The FA’s new Inspiring Positive Change strategy will build upon the foundations created by
The Gameplan for Growth and deliver truly transformational change to the women’s and girls’ game.”
Steph Houghton, England Women’s captain said: “When I and many of my team mates were
girls, opportunities to play the game were few and far between, so to see the breadth and scale of The
FA’s ambitions in the next four years is extremely exciting.
“This new strategy will help provide opportunities for women and girls of all ages, abilities and
backgrounds to fall in love with football and enjoy the many benefits that it can bring to their life.”
Issue no. 2 - 22 October 2020 news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk