Danish development

Following on from Fulham’s remarkable success in reaching their first every Europa League Final in May, the Fulham FC Girls Centre of Excellence embarked on their second European excursion in July.

After the tour to Gotland in Sweden last year, the 2010 edition saw the Centre visit another Scandinavian country to compete in the Football Festival Denmark. The tournament took place in Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, between 27 -31 July.

Following careful consideration, Football Festival Denmark was chosen as the tournament that could provide the right competition for the players and, in line with the COE philosophy, allow them to learn, improve and develop in an environment that is unique compared to the usual week to week running COE program.

Three squads, containing 37 players and ten staff, travelled to Denmark with the U12s competing in the G13 category, U14s in the G15 and the U16s playing in the G17 age group respectively. The tournament itself produced a wide range of emotions and challenges for each team to overcome.

The U12s produced some impressive results in their run to get to the ‘A’ final and came up just short in the closing minutes of extra time in a very balanced encounter between two competitive teams.

The U14s reached the ‘A’ final and beat AIK Stockholm of Sweden 1-0 to claim the trophy after a very controlled and mature performance from every player, whilst the U16s finished the tournament in sixth place out of 12 teams, which considering the knocks and injuries the players had to battle on with, was a more than creditable finish.

The tour was a continuation of the Fulham FC Girls Centre of Excellence commitment to providing the best possible learning opportunities for the players and will hopefully provide experiences that will help enhance their development and stay with them for a long time to come.

These trips provide a real opportunity for the holistic development of each individual player, along with the matches and training sessions on the playing field the players had to learn to work together, socialise and bond off the field. All the staff would like to thank the players for their hard work and want the tour to be a great memory for each of them. The experience will hopefully inspire the players to focus their attention and improve further in their development as an elite female player.

Organised by the Centre Management team of Richard Gunney and Michelle Jeffcoate and without their tireless efforts to co-ordinate the tour; it would not have been possible. Steve Day, Fulham FC Foundation Chief Executive, positively encouraged the organisation of this additional opportunity for the players as it meets a number of core values that are paramount to Fulham FC.

Thanks must also go to Tom Shorey from Inspire Sport who helped organise the trip.  Simon Stormer, Tim Chandler and Magnus Thell were also integral by supporting the trip financially through sponsorship.

If you would like to find out more about the Fulham FC Girls COE please contact the FFC Foundation on 0870 442 5432.