Members of the England women’s under-23s squad paid a surprise visit to a girls’ talent pathway event in Birmingham, ran in collaboration with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council, to see the city’s aspiring young players show off their talent.
The event forms part of The FA’s commitment to identify, nurture and develop future players from every background and walk of life.
Fresh from facing Germany at Walsall on Thursday night, Ashanti Akpan, Teyah Goldie, Ruby Grant and Birmingham-born Olivia McLoughlin made the visit to Tally Ho Sports Ground, where 200 girls aged 12-17 were competing in a football tournament.
The Young Lionesses, who next play France at Stevenage on Tuesday 25th February, were on hand to interact with the girls taking part in the day, as well as answer questions about their own journeys to playing for England, before handing out the medals and trophies to the aspiring players.
Ran in partnership with West Midlands Police, the event featured girls from the hardest to reach backgrounds from across Birmingham, who have faced significant barriers to regular participation in football, offering them a chance to showcase their skills and talent in front of The FA’s talent ID team.
As well as the Young Lionesses, The Great Britain National Police Football Team manager was also in attendance, showing the girls taking part in the day the range of participation opportunities available as they develop into adults.
Olivia McLoughlin, England WU23 international, said: “It was a real pleasure to be invited along to the event and see so much talent in Birmingham. My old grassroots club Leafield Ladies were even there, which was a real highlight.
“Hopefully us being there helps inspire the girls to know that they really could go on to follow in our footsteps – I was wearing that exact kit when I was a young girl and now I’m wearing an England kit.”
Fellow Young Lioness and Birmingham City midfielder Ashanti Akpan added: “It was lovely to see the excitement the girls had for us being there and a really nice feeling to hopefully inspire the next generation.
“Through playing I’ve made so many friends and memories, and that’s the most important thing. Even if some of those players don’t go on to get scouted and make it professionally, it was brilliant to see how much fun they were all having just playing football.”
The event sits alongside The FA’s Discover My Talent programme, which ensures any talented girl, from any background, can be referred onto the England radar and potentially go on to represent their country.
Discover My Talent was launched in August 2021 and is a key part of The FA’s approach to unearthing and developing talented female players to make it onto the England talent pathway. Since its implementation it has made significant progress in boosting the level of diversity of girls coming into the pathway, with a 28% increase in players from socio-economically deprived areas and a 10% increase in players from underrepresented groups accessing Discover My Talent.
Katie Grainger, Lead Regional Talent ID Coach at The FA, said: “We’re delighted to have partnered with West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council for a great event, and to give young girls in Birmingham a platform to showcase their talent.
“At The FA, we’re committed to identifying and nurturing the next generation of players and this event is a vital step in ensuring that every young girl, no matter where she comes from, has the opportunity to be seen by the England talent team. We’re excited to roll this event out across more regions where we hope to identify players for further involvement in the Women’s England Talent Pathway, by taking opportunity directly to talent.”
