Published 06 July 2023 5 min read
Women's U23
England WU23s' new season schedule revealed
The Young Lionesses, led by head coach Emma Coates, will take part in a new structure of fixtures against fellow European nations in 2023-24
The England women’s under-23s team will take part in an organised European league competition during the 2023-24 campaign.
It will be the first time that this age group will face a structured format of games across the course of the campaign, as they join eight other European nations in the new competition.
Starting in September and running through each of the five women’s international windows until April 2024, Emma Coates’ England WU23s will join Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in the new structure.
The league came about after talks between the governing bodies, who were all keen to expand their WU23s programme, over the course of last season.
And England’s women’s technical director, Kay Cossington, believes it’s a big step forward in the progress of international women’s football.
“When you look at the games we’ve now got next season, it’s excellent – it’s the best season we’ve ever had in our entirety with an WU23s’ programme,” said Cossington.
“We all have a responsibility of raising the profile of the WU23s but this is a product of the evolution of the women’s game, and it’s an acknowledgment of the senior environment and the increasing of the number of teams involved in major competition finals now.
“We only have competitions through UEFA at WU17 and WU19s and then, if we qualify for the FIFA U17 and U20 Women’s World Cups, which is really tough to do as there’s so few spaces for European qualification every two years.
“It’s created this hole in the pathway of players transitioning from youth to senior level and these players are all playing in professional leagues, so we have to give them the platform and a pipeline to service those teams.”
It will be the first time that this age group will face a structured format of games across the course of the campaign, as they join eight other European nations in the new competition.
Starting in September and running through each of the five women’s international windows until April 2024, Emma Coates’ England WU23s will join Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden in the new structure.
The league came about after talks between the governing bodies, who were all keen to expand their WU23s programme, over the course of last season.
And England’s women’s technical director, Kay Cossington, believes it’s a big step forward in the progress of international women’s football.
“When you look at the games we’ve now got next season, it’s excellent – it’s the best season we’ve ever had in our entirety with an WU23s’ programme,” said Cossington.
“We all have a responsibility of raising the profile of the WU23s but this is a product of the evolution of the women’s game, and it’s an acknowledgment of the senior environment and the increasing of the number of teams involved in major competition finals now.
“We only have competitions through UEFA at WU17 and WU19s and then, if we qualify for the FIFA U17 and U20 Women’s World Cups, which is really tough to do as there’s so few spaces for European qualification every two years.
“It’s created this hole in the pathway of players transitioning from youth to senior level and these players are all playing in professional leagues, so we have to give them the platform and a pipeline to service those teams.”
So, how did the new league format come about?
“There’s still so few countries across the world that have a WU23s programme and that’s always been part of the challenge,” explained Cossington.
“But for those of us that do, we’re trying to get a bit more formality about it so that we can get some good opponents for each other.
“A few of the federations were talking to each other to say we really needed something for the WU23s and last season a few of us signed into this semi-formal process where we got to play some good fixtures, but this season it’s much more formal and there’s a mini-league.
Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman has already called up a number of players from the recent WU23s squad, with the likes of Katie Robinson, Jess Park, Lucy Parker, Maya Le Tissier and Ebony Salmon having all featured in both squads this season.
“Sarina is prepared to give players a chance and invest in them and that’s really important,” added Cossington.
“We can work hard with all of these players at development level, but if the senior head coach doesn’t want to give them an opportunity then there’s a glass ceiling still.
“We’ve got a pathway that is developing players but if the game’s not careful and we don’t have a WU23 programme then we’ll just haemorrhage players.
“It’s really difficult now for a player to transition straight out of the WU19 age group into the senior squad, and with the average age of squads last summer being 25 the WU23 becomes even more critical to the pathway.
“So we need a bridge in between which exposes them to games against good teams and when you look at the nations we’ve got in there now, they’re going to be really tough opponents.
“The WU23s has to be an age group that is really connected with the senior team, where they can work on similar styles of play and everything is aligned to the seniors, making their transition smoother.
“We want to ensure that our top talent coming out of the development teams are in our WU23 squad, ensuring that we invest in them alongside our senior squad to ensure that if or when called upon they are given every chance of being ready to succeed."
“There’s still so few countries across the world that have a WU23s programme and that’s always been part of the challenge,” explained Cossington.
“But for those of us that do, we’re trying to get a bit more formality about it so that we can get some good opponents for each other.
“A few of the federations were talking to each other to say we really needed something for the WU23s and last season a few of us signed into this semi-formal process where we got to play some good fixtures, but this season it’s much more formal and there’s a mini-league.
Lionesses head coach Sarina Wiegman has already called up a number of players from the recent WU23s squad, with the likes of Katie Robinson, Jess Park, Lucy Parker, Maya Le Tissier and Ebony Salmon having all featured in both squads this season.
“Sarina is prepared to give players a chance and invest in them and that’s really important,” added Cossington.
“We can work hard with all of these players at development level, but if the senior head coach doesn’t want to give them an opportunity then there’s a glass ceiling still.
“We’ve got a pathway that is developing players but if the game’s not careful and we don’t have a WU23 programme then we’ll just haemorrhage players.
“It’s really difficult now for a player to transition straight out of the WU19 age group into the senior squad, and with the average age of squads last summer being 25 the WU23 becomes even more critical to the pathway.
“So we need a bridge in between which exposes them to games against good teams and when you look at the nations we’ve got in there now, they’re going to be really tough opponents.
“The WU23s has to be an age group that is really connected with the senior team, where they can work on similar styles of play and everything is aligned to the seniors, making their transition smoother.
“We want to ensure that our top talent coming out of the development teams are in our WU23 squad, ensuring that we invest in them alongside our senior squad to ensure that if or when called upon they are given every chance of being ready to succeed."
The fixture list for England WU23s in 2023-24 is as follows, with dates subject to change.
September Window
Norway v England - Thursday 21 September 2023
England v Belgium - Monday 25 September 2023
October Window
Italy v England - Thursday 26 October 2023
England v Portugal - Monday 30 October 2023
November Window
France v England - Thursday 30 November 2023
England v Spain - Monday 4 December 2023
February Window
Netherlands v England - Monday 26 February 2024
April Window
England v Sweden - Thursday 4 April 2024
September Window
Norway v England - Thursday 21 September 2023
England v Belgium - Monday 25 September 2023
October Window
Italy v England - Thursday 26 October 2023
England v Portugal - Monday 30 October 2023
November Window
France v England - Thursday 30 November 2023
England v Spain - Monday 4 December 2023
February Window
Netherlands v England - Monday 26 February 2024
April Window
England v Sweden - Thursday 4 April 2024
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