players

THE GAMEPLAN FOR GROWTH REVIEW

THE RECRUITMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF COACHING

During May and June, The FA will review the impact of The Gameplan for Growth strategy on the women’s and girls’ game. Launched in March 2017, the strategy pledged to tackle ambitious targets to double participation [by doubling the number of affiliated teams], double the game’s fanbase and create a high-performance system and world-class talent pipeline for England teams to achieve consistent success on the world stage. After four seasons the strategy is now concluding, and in the coming months The FA will outline its continued support for women’s and girls’ football with the launch of the 2020-2024 strategy.

This week reviews The Gameplan for Growth’s positive impact on the recruitment and development of coaching in the women’s and girls’ game.


THE OBJECTIVE:
The Gameplan for Growth committed to ‘increase the number and diversity of women coaching the
sport at all levels’ by developing The FA’s coaching structure.


RESULTS:
• 5,180 new female coaches from 2017 to 2020
• Collaboration with Sport England to support 204 female coaches with bursaries to improve access to UEFA B, A and Pro licence qualifications
• Doubling the number of female coaches holding a UEFA A licence from 41 in 2017 to 82 in 2020
• The introduction of Coach Development Officers to provide one-to-one support – engaging with 2,487 male and female coaches working at grassroots and talent pathway level
• One to one support for 148 male and female coaches at Tiers 1-3 of the women’s game and Regional Talent Clubs [RTCs] via the introduction of Women’s National Coach Developers
• 34,581 coaching qualifications for female coaches from levels 1 to 5 – an 18% increase from 2017
• 333% increase in female head coaches/managers in the Barclays FA WSL and FA Women’s Championship, from three in 2016/17 to 13 in 2019/20
• 67% increase in female head coaches with England’s national teams, from three in 2016/17 to five in 2019/20