ENGLAND: Girls' Centres of Excellence confirmed

Some more positive news from the grassroots level for girls in England. Thank you Gareth for bringing it to my attention.

The FA has announced 30 FA Girls’ Centres of Excellence for season 2011-12.

Having carried out a robust consultation, monitoring, evaluation and review of the previous Girls’ Talent Development programme, The FA will operate 62 Talent Development Centres as opposed to the 50 FA Girls’ Centres of Excellence that have existed previously, and we are pleased to outline the new girls’ elite football pathway which will benefit all areas of the game, but most importantly for the players playing within it.

The new structure will encompass Centres which will be a combination of Player Development Centres and FA Girls’ Centres of Excellence, resulting in a restructure of the current Centres programme. Three brand new Elite Performance Camps will also replace the Regional Talent Camps.

This improved FA Girls’ Talent Development pathway will have long term sustainability, will support the entry route into the Centres at grassroots, develop grassroots clubs at younger age groups and will also provide women’s teams with well educated and better equipped players in all four areas.

Should a talented young girl be unable to attend an FA Girls’ Centre of Excellence due to the travel time and distance, an FA Girls’ Centre of Excellence Director can apply to The FA for special dispensation on the player’s behalf. Further details of what this dispensation entails will be available from your nearest FA Girls’ Centre of Excellence from July 2011.

The FA Player Development Centres will be decided in July, but the 30 Centres of Excellence are:

Arsenal
Aston Villa
Birmingham City
Blackburn Rovers
Brighton & Hove Albion
Bristol Academy
Cambridge
Chelsea
Colchester United
Derby County
Devon FA
Everton
Gillingham
Hampshire FA
Leeds United
Leicester City
Lincoln Ladies
Liverpool
Manchester United
Middlesex FA
Millwall & Lewisham
MK Dons
North Yorkshire
Norwich City
Oxford United
Sheffield United
Somerset FA
Sporting Club Albion
Stoke City
Teesside University


For further information and all the email addresses to contact the player development centres above check out full story on the FA website.

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