Who is the spare player? Where's the space? Yes, yes, let's go!" is the shout, as Manchester City's under-16s girls' squad are put through their paces at the City Football Academy and the net ripples at the end of another slick move.
On this particular ice-cold December night, the future stars being developed are not only the youngsters but those in the tracksuits too. The next generation of coaches, participants on the latest Uefa A licence course run by the FA, are leading the session and are faces familiar to any Women's Super League supporter.
Overseeing drills are the former City and England captain Steph Houghton, the former City, Lyon and Everton midfielder Izzy Christiansen and three current players in Scotland's winger Lisa Evans, the Manchester United defender Aoife Mannion and the City and Scotland goalkeeper Sandy MacIver, as they reach the halfway stage in a course that has the potential to be groundbreaking.
They are part of the first all-female A licence cohort, unveiled in May as part of a collaboration between the FA and the Professional Footballers' Association, with the aim of increasing the number of women coaching. The FA's senior professional game player-to-coach lead, Steve Guinan, says: "We're trying to keep good football people in the game as long as we can and, with the knowledge of people here, we'd be foolish not to.
"We're trying to address some of the under-representation and encourage more women's coaches into either the men's or the women's game. If you look across the WSL, there are more men's coaches than there are women. Ultimately, we want English head coaches working in the WSL and the Premier League."
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin December 24, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin December 24, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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