Kay Cossington: 'We want every young girl to have the opportunity to fulfil her dream'

“We want to ensure we can reach every community in this country and allow every young girl that wants to fulfil the dream of being a professional footballer or playing for England has the opportunity to do so.”

That is the message from our Women’s Technical Director Kay Cossington after The FA revamped the Women’s and Girls’ Player Pathway to help unearth the very best talent in England while also making the game more diverse, accessible and inclusive.

Following an extensive consultation period across the game, The FA has made significant changes across the pathway aimed at girls and young women between the ages of eight and 20.

The move will increase the number of players and coaches entering high-quality training environments and ensure all corners of the country and communities are catered for.

For girls between the ages of eight and 16, up to 70 Emerging Talent Centres (ETCs) will be established and will be funded by both The FA and the Premier League.

There will also be fundamental changes to the pathway for talented players between the ages of 14 and 20 with the launch of a new programme for clubs in the Barclays Women’s Super League and Barclays Women’s Championship, known as FA Professional Game Academies (PGAs), which will replace the current FA WSL Academies from the 2023-24 season.

It is hoped the introduction of the ETCs and PGAs will help create more players who will be ready for first team football for club and country, reducing the step up from youth football to the professional game and the England national team.

You can click here to read more about the changes to the Women’s and Girls’ Player Pathway and you can hear more from Cossington below.

Emerging Talent Centres

- Ninety-five per cent of players being able to access an ETC within one hour of where they live by 2024

- Girls encouraged to continue playing a variety of different types of football and mixed football if that is what they would like to do

- Improved access for those from traditionally under-represented communities

Cossington said: “Instead of travelling for two or three hours to get to a club where they deem it to be a professional club, they can stay playing at their local club or whatever their club looks like and still have access to a player development centre, on the first step of the talent system.

“Having 70 ETCs spread across the country gives us a lot more access and inclusivity. 

“There will be a 30-week training programme, mapped around education and school holidays, so we will work with the club they are playing with.

“Centres have the flexibility from eight until 16 years of age and are delivered locally by different partners. It could be a professional club, a grassroots club, a college, a county FA, a Women’s Super League team, it will be the best environment from the open application process to actually deliver these programmes.

“A really important part of this is the partnership with the Premier League. They have so much experience in this space and their aims and ambitions are the same as ours: to ensure we can reach every community in this country and allow every young girl that wants to fulfil the dream of being a professional footballer or playing for England has the opportunity to do so.

“I think us working together provides a really strong base for these girls to develop.”

Professional Game Academies 

- Talented players at the top end of the pathway having the opportunity to develop in readiness for senior football at the top level

- The FA funding will be focussed on having Category 1 (two teams between the ages of 14 and 21) and Category 2 (one team) clubs.

- The FA has spent the last nine years analysing and visiting other nations that excel in aspects of their women’s and girls’ development

- Cossington stressed the importance of treating men’s player pathway and women’s pathways differently, highlighting there are 1.38m male players in the pathway, compared to 198,747 total female pathway players of all ages.

Cossington said: “It is not as simple as a copy-and-paste; to lift something from the men’s game or another federation and put it into our women’s system. That is a really important bit of context when we explain the changes to the pathway.”

She added: “Katie Robinson was a player living in the depths of Cornwall, far away from everything, Maya Le Tissier had a similar model because she lived on the island of Guernsey, which was very different to Leah Williamson who spent her life at Arsenal.

“So they are uniquely different in terms of the pathway but they still found their way through the different mechanisms to find themselves as a senior Lionesses and a professional footballer.

“I can’t stress enough the difference and the need for difference within a system that allows players the opportunity to flourish where and when is appropriate for them.”

Discover My Talent

- Anyone can refer a player from anywhere in the world

- Of the thousands of referrals being made through Discover My Talent, 320 players have been identified as a real talent of interest, whilst 75 are now in the final stages of selection for England Teams between the age of U15–U17.

- Regional talent managers work with a team of scouts and talent reporters across the five regions: the North East, North West, Midlands & East, London & South East and the South West

- Twice a year there are windows where girls are considered before being invited to regional events in November and May

- Half of the Discover My Talent recommended players so far are from postcodes in IMD 6 or below areas

- Supported by Sport England and UEFA Hattrick funding

Cossington said: “Already through Discover my Talent, we are engaging more players from IMD areas 1, 2 3 and 4, i.e. more players from high areas of deprivation. That is really important.

“When we talk about being inclusive and accessible, those statistics are phenomenal but actually, how we help and support those players is really important as they come into our system.”

She added: “Every journey is uniquely different, every player is uniquely different. We must create a system and structure in which we believe through the ETC model and the professional game academies, aligned with the England talent pathway, we have a sustainable structure which helps the players.”