FA to establish female-dedicated performance centres on university campuses

Eight university campuses will become home to High Performance Centres built specifically for women’s football as part of the Football Association’s (FA) plan to increase participation.

Northumbria University, Sheffield Hallam University, a Manchester consortia of Manchester Metropolitan and the University of Manchester, and a Nottingham consortia of the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University will host centres in the north of England.

In the south and Midlands, partnerships have been made with the University of Birmingham, the University of Chichester, the University of Gloucestershire and St Mary’s University.

The centres have been built to provide an “educational and community-based setting” to develop coaches to focus solely on the needs of women footballers and the women’s game.

They will establish a connection between the England talent pathway and Women’s Super League clubs.

The university environment will also “facilitate both academic and football ambitions” for players and coaches, with opportunities to study modules in sports science, sports medicine and coaching.

Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA’s head of women’s football, said the centres are a “further proof point of the FA’s commitment to transform the future of women’s football” in England.

“They will ensure aspiring coaches and talented players in all parts of the country have access to the best training and support possible, providing us with the greatest opportunity for success at all levels of international football,” she added.

The FA has the ambition to double participation and fan numbers of the women’s game by 2020.