Discover My Talent is a programme where almost anyone can refer a player for consideration to be engaged in the England Women’s Talent Pathway. The England Women’s Talent Pathway identifies and supports players who have potential to play for England Youth National Teams.

We are looking for any player, from anywhere, at any time and are asking people involved in all formats of the game to nominate girls who they believe have the potential to become a Future Lioness.

Our aim is to ensure we supply England teams with the quality, diversity and depth of players to succeed at future major tournaments. In pursuit of this ambition, we’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to finding future talent across England.

No, this invitation is not a selection or trial for England. 

Our team gain insight about players who have been referred through Discover My Talent to establish where they are in their individual development journey.

Players may be invited to further Talent ID/Confirmation events, or they could be invited into our Top Talent Programme to attend development sessions delivered by their Regional Talent Manager.

These processes help us determine their readiness for National Team selection, with our youngest age group being U15’s.

Players need to be eligible to represent England to be nominated, and during the 2026-2027 season, must be born between 2011 - 2013 (this includes players overseas who are eligible to play for England). 

Anyone can refer a player (except family/friends of the player) so whether you are a coach, a volunteer, match official or teacher… whether you support football in grassroots, a community environment, within education or somewhere else, we need you to help us find future talent.

Within 5 working days of a player being referred the Parent/Guardian/Carer will receive an email from ‘EnglandWomensTalentPathway@thefa.com via Smartsheet’ with the subject ‘FA England Women’s Talent Pathway – Player Referral’. 

This email will contain a unique link to a FA England Women’s Talent Pathway - Player Referral Form (Parent/Guardian/Carer Form). This link is specific to that player, and will allow us to collect all the required information to help us consider their Discover My Talent Referral.

If this form is not completed, we will be unable to consider the referral.

Using the information provided in the FA England Women’s Talent Pathway - Player Referral Form (Parent/Guardian/Carer Form), the FA Talent ID Coach/FA Regional Talent Manager for the region in which the player lives and/or plays will determine the best way for us to consider the referral.

There are several different ways we may use to consider players including any of the following:
• Gaining additional Insight on the player from their coach/teacher
• Observe the player at a training session, fixture or event
• Observe video footage of the player if available (we will request this from the club)
• An invitation to attend one of our FA or Partner Led Future Lionesses Talent ID Events*

*Players and Parents/Carers/Guardians will only be notified of an observation if the player is invited to a Future Lionesses Event.

We aim to consider all referrals within 12 months of receiving them and will do our best to keep you up to date.

Please see our Future Lioness Characteristics here.

1. Player Referral is submitted
2. Additional information requested from Parent/Guardian/Carer
3. Player is observed or invited to an event
4. Player’s referral is considered (may take up to 12 months)
5. Outcome communicated

North East 
Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire

North West
Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Shropshire, Staffordshire

Midlands and East
Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, W Midlands

London and/or South East
Berkshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, City and Greater London, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East & West Sussex

South West
Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

Another Country Outside of England

You may receive an additional email to complete the Parent/Guardian/Carer Form after you have already done so. This may be due to us receiving an additional referral for the child in your care and our system not flagging it as a duplicate.

There is no need to complete the form again, but if you are unsure please email EnglandWomensTalentPathway@thefa.com

If you have received a letter confirming the child in your care’s engagement in the England Women’s Talent Pathway Top Talent Programme they do not need to be considered again through Discover My Talent. Please open the Parent/Guardian/Carer form and select ‘No’ in response to ‘Proceed with Application’.

Please check your junk/spam folder for emails from “@thefa.com” or "EnglandWomensTalentPathway@thefa.com via Smartsheet" or “@app.smartsheet.com”

If you still cannot locate any emails:
• Ensure your email address is correct
• Add FA email addresses to your safe sender list
• Contact us with your player’s name and details.

Please note that a majority of our communications are sent via automated systems.

When a player is invited to an event their Parent/Guardian/Carer will receive an email from EWTP.[REGION]@thefa.com containing the Player Information and Safeguarding Pack which contains all the relevant information for the event.

They should also receive an email from ‘England Women’s Talent Pathway via Smartsheet’ which will allow them to RSVP to the event by clicking ‘Open Request’.

Please email EWTP.[REGION]@thefa.com (no spaces or connecting words such as and/or, e.g. EWTP.LondonSouthEast) with the event name as the subject if you have it – if you are unsure of which region you are in please see the ‘General Queries’ section.

Please email EWTP.[REGION]@thefa.com (no spaces or connecting words such as and/or, e.g. EWTP.LondonSouthEast) with the event name as the subject if you have it – if you are unsure of which region you are in please see the ‘General Queries’ section.

If you have completed the RSVP form, your place is confirmed and you should attend the event as outlined in the event pack.

Some Partner Led Talent ID Events may require you to have received confirmation before attending. If this is the case it will be detailed in the Player Information and Safeguarding Pack. If you are unsure please email the contact of the partner organisation as detailed in the pack.

There are several factors taken into consideration when inviting players to event. These may include things such as age, club environment and travel time from home address. As an example, players may play for the same club but may not be an appropriate distance to the event venue from their home address.

We want to ensure our pathway is as accessible as possible, therefore we try to ensure players are only invited to events that are an appropriate travel time from their home address. This is often up to an 1 hour but could be 1.5 hours in some geographic regions.

If you have been invited to an event beyond this / beyond what is possible for you to access please respond to the invitation email explaining so.

Sometimes our team may feel it is necessary to see players on multiple occasions to help us gaining further understanding of where they are on their individual development journey.

Please attend any events you are invited to as this will help us understand what engagement in the England Women’s Talent Pathway is appropriate. If you are unable to attend the event please RSVP that you can’t attend and our team will look to redetermine the best way to proceed.

We understand there may be a variety of reasons players may be unable to attend events, e.g. illness/injury/holiday/school trip/family event. Please don’t worry, just RSVP to say that you cannot attend and provide the reason. 

Our team will then consider this to redetermine the best way to consider their referral. If you do not RSVP and have received multiple invitations to events, we will consider the referral as attempted and will not look to engage the player any further.

Please remember you will only be notified of an observation if they are invited to a Talent ID Event, we may also:
• Gain additional Insight on the player from their coach/teacher
• Observe the player at a training session, fixture or event
• Observe video footage of the player if available (we will request this from the club)

We aim to consider all referrals within 12 months of receiving them and will do our best to keep you up to date.

There are several factors taken into consideration when inviting players to events. These may include things such as club environment and travel time from home address. We are unable to offer alternative events on request, but our team will redetermine the best way to consider their referral. 

Please note this may take some time as additional events that are an appropriate opportunity may vary on frequency. We aim to consider all referrals within 12 months of receiving them and will do our best to keep you up to date.

To give the child in your care the best opportunity to have maximum benefit from the experience and chance to showcase their skills, we’d ask that you only attend if you can stay for the whole event.

To give the child in your care the best opportunity to have maximum benefit from the experience and chance to showcase their skills, we’d ask that you only attend if you they are fully fit and well to participate. If you arrive with an illness or injury our team will send you home from the event.

We understand circumstances change and if you can no longer attend after completing the initial RSVP, please respond to the invitation email to let us know. We will then update our records to reflect this.

Our team will then redetermine the best way to consider the referral. If you do not update us and have received multiple invitations to events, we will consider the referral as attempted and will not look to engage the player any further.

Please remember you will only be notified of an observation if they are invited to a Talent ID Event, we may also:
• Gain additional Insight on the player from their coach/teacher
• Observe the player at a training session, fixture or event
• Observe video footage of the player if available (we will request this from the club)

We aim to consider all referrals within 12 months of receiving them and will do our best to keep you up to date.

On arrival the players will be signed in with a member of our staff, our medical may also want to follow up on any relevant medical information you have provided.

The event will involve a range of warm up, technical sessions and/or small sided games. Goalkeeper specific practices and support will be provided. It is a great opportunity to play with and meet new players.

Players will be signed out of the event by a member of staff, and staff will ensure an appropriate parent/guardian is there to collect them. This opportunity is just one way we consider referrals, the whole process could take up to 12 months.

• Talent ID events are designed to provide players with an opportunity to enjoy their football, challenge themselves and demonstrate their current strengths and potential
• Players may take part in a variety of football activities appropriate to their age and stage of development
• The environment is intended to be supportive, enjoyable and safe, allowing players to perform as naturally as possible
• We encourage players to focus on being themselves, working hard and enjoying the experience.

• Help them arrive feeling prepared, rested and ready to enjoy the experience
• Focus conversations on effort, learning and enjoyment rather than outcomes
• Encourage them to concentrate on what they can control, such as their attitude, energy and willingness to learn
• Avoid placing pressure on the event or treating it as a test of their potential
• Let coaches and staff lead the football activities so your child can focus fully on playing and learning
• Remember that your role is not to evaluate performance, but to provide encouragement and reassurance

• Feeling nervous before a Talent ID event is completely normal
• Remind them that they have been invited so that our team can learn more about them as a player
• Encourage them to focus on enjoying the experience rather than trying to impress others
• Help them understand that one event does not define their future potential or football journey
• Be available to listen to any concerns, while helping them keep the opportunity in perspective
• Every player's development journey is unique, and progression happens at different times for different individuals

Due to the volume of referrals and ensuring that opportunities are accessible for players, it may take some time for their referral to be considered. We aim to consider all referrals within 12 months of receiving them and will do our best to keep you up to date.

After attending a Talent ID Event you will receive an email from ‘England Women’s Talent Pathway via Smartsheet’ to let you know if we have gathered enough insight and the referral is complete or whether we need to gather more insight at a further opportunity. 

Please bear in mind that we may use multiple opportunities to consider their referral, so this could be some time after the event has taken place. We will do our best to keep you up to date on whether we are still considering their referral.

Players we feel are ready may be invited to engage in our Top Talent Programme. Please know that this decision reflects her development at this point in time only. Every player’s journey is unique – and we fully recognise that players develop at different stages, and potential may continue to emerge as they gain further experience and maturity within the game. Our goal is to ensure the pathway remains open and accessible for players who are ready to progress when the time is right for them.

Due to the number of referrals we receive we are unfortunately unable to provide individual feedback, please see our Future Lioness Characteristics to support their development.

We understand that not being offered any further engagement may be disappointing. Please know that this decision reflects her development at this point in time only. Every player’s journey is unique – and we fully recognise that players develop at different stages, and potential may continue to emerge as they gain further experience and maturity within the game. Our goal is to ensure the pathway remains open and accessible for players who are ready to progress when the time is right for them.

12 months post the referral outcome, if a relevant coach/teacher/community worker would like to refer the player to be considered again we would ask that they are re- referred through the Discover My Talent Player Referral Process.