International Women’s Day is a global event that takes place every year to celebrate all women, raising awareness around their achievements and bringing attention to issues that remain around gender equality, stereotyping and opportunities, and violence and abuse against women.
To help celebrate and mark the occasion, LUTV paid a special visit to one of the many programmes being delivered specifically for women and girls throughout the city thanks to the Leeds United Foundation, with Leeds United Women stars Cath Hamill and Paige Williams also in attendance.
Taking place at West Riding FA, which is one of many venues and locations being used to deliver these initiatives that give opportunities to females across Leeds, Cath and Paige were on hand to help with coaching the young participants whilst also answering important questions around their careers in football, staying motivated, and reaching their dreams.
To take a look at the video from the visit to celebrate International Women's Day, please click here.
The women and girls department at the club is currently engaging with up to 800 females per week, focusing on engagement, participation, education and also elite development. The main aim for the department is to provide any female, of any ability, an opportunity to play football in an inclusive environment.
Please take a look below at an overview of all of the fantastic programmes being ran week in, and week out:
Working with Schools and Grassroots Clubs
We offer a specific programme which works with Schools and Grassroots clubs to help grow their female participation. When working with schools we aim to create an inclusive girls only environment where girls can learn the fundamentals of football, make friends and develop key skills to progress them into football. We team up with local grassroots clubs to help support coaches within their grassroots environments, helping build their girls only provision and offer additional training for their female players. We are currently engaging with 30 schools and grassroots clubs to help support their girls only provision. We have seen a number of players join our schools and grassroots programme and progress along the Leeds United Female Pathway.
To find out more email: [email protected]
Girls Only Development Centres
Our girls only Development Centres find and nurture female talent from a young age within our region, providing a platform for the girls to perform at their very best after receiving first-class coaching and support. One-hour training sessions take place each week across several locations. Sessions are based on individualised coaching, providing the opportunity for female players to improve not only their skills and technique but also confidence, covering all aspects of the game. Weekly sessions work on both the technical and tactical elements of the game. Players can continue to play for their grassroots team whilst training at the Girls Development Centres combining this additional training with their grassroots schedule.
The Development Centres are designed to discover new female talent within the region at a young age and nurture their development. The sessions offer high quality coaching with the goal of producing the best talent for our Female Pathway. Coaches on the programme often refer girls up to the Shadow Squad who they believe are excelling and show the potential to make it all the way through the pathway.
Locations: Pontefract, Knaresborough, Grammar School at Leeds, Halifax and Scarborough
To find out more email: [email protected]
Girls Only Shadow Squad
Our Girls Shadow squad hosts 190 players across U7s to U16s.
Our Shadow Squad is an invitation only programme, accessed through a trial process. The programme is for players who show potential of accessing the Girls Academy. As this is solely a training programme, girls can continue to play for their grassroots clubs and play competitive football in grassroots settings. The Shadow Squad focuses on the individual player, working to improve their technical ability to push them into the Academy. There is a strong emphasis on positional roles and responsibilities, with training focusing on the tactical elements of the game. The Shadow Squad has been extremely successful thus far in providing the Academy with girls of high quality across various age groups.
Emerging Talent Centre
We currently engage with 60 females from age 8-11 within our new FA Girls Emerging Talent Centre. The aim of this programme is to identify talent, based at West Riding County FA we provide players with a training programme, whilst also providing additional fixtures that helps develop players with varied football formats. The aim of the Emerging Talent Centre is to provide local access for players within our area. Players within the Emerging Talent Centre also play for grassroots clubs along side training with us.
To find out more email: [email protected]
Girls Academy
We have 64 elite players in the Academy across four age groups, including U12s, U13s, U14s and U16s. The Academy has tier 1+ status, which has only been achieved by four centres across the country. Our aim is to be one of the country’s strongest elite systems for talented female players, producing players that will play in the Women’s Super League and for England. Our Girls Academy produces top quality players that are not only technically talented but also well-rounded individuals when they progress from the RTC. We have seen many success stories with players representing England and teams across the Women’s Championship and Women’s National League. Our girls also have the option to stay within the pathway through our Post 16 Academy College Programme where the opportunity to combine studies and football is available, continuing the infrastructure and support of the RTC beyond the U16 age group.
Post 16 Female Education Academy
Lastly, we offer a full-time Education Programme in partnership with Leeds City College for female players who aspire to play at a high level, whilst also committing to an academic programme of study. Players can study A Level or BTEC courses when committing to our Education Programme. The programme is based at Leeds City College for your education studies and the football provision is based at West Riding County FA for training and match days. The aim of the female academy programme is to help provide a clear pathway for players who progress from Academies (RTC) programmes or females who are looking to combine their studies with full time football provision. It enables the women and girls pathway to be extended beyond our Girls Academy (RTC) to combine both programmes in creating a holistic dual career programme which supports female football development.
You can sign up via this link: https://forms.office.com/r/tt675HGXfq
For more information around the work being done for International Women's Day, please click here.
