FA Womens High Performance Football Centres

What is a women's high performance Football centre?

We are proud to offer support for women’s and girls' game coaches in partnership with eleven universities across the country.

Whether you have been coaching a while or just getting started, we’re here to help you develop your skills. We have teamed up with leading universities across the country to offer regional support for grassroots coaches working in the women's and girl’s game at specialist Women’s High Performance Football Centres (WHPFC).

You can contact your local Coach Development Officer (CDO) via your WHPFC to access help and support in your area at any time. You may be selected by your CDO to receive one-on-one tutoring sessions or visits to your teams' training and matches, and you can join group sessions to meet other local coaches in the women’s game.

Can I get Involved?

Wherever you are in the game, we’re here to help.

Our nine women’s high performance football centres have been designed for a mixture of different coaching abilities. Some of our centres specialise in providing focused support and guidance for certain groups e.g. Level 3 (UEFA B) coaches, however, support is available for all coaches at any level.

You can find out more about your local women’s high performance centre and the support they offer using the contact information on this page.

Continue doing what you're doing! The workshops this year have made me reflect upon my own practices and how I can develop myself as a coach for the benefit of my squad.

- Women's high performance football centre mentee

FIND YOUR LOCAL COACH DEVELOPMENT OFFICER (CDO)

The best way to start your journey is to contact the CDO at your local WHPFC. They will be able to tell you about the different activities coming up in your area, answer your questions, and help you get involved.

22/23 map of women's high performance football centres — Get support for you and your team

Find your local centre

COntact our northern CDO team

University of Birmingham
Abbie Sadler - Abbie.Sadler@TheFA.com

Manchester Metropolitan University
Jemma Entwistle - J.Entwistle@mmu.ac.uk

Northumbria University
Claire Robinson - Claire.Robinson@northumbria.ac.uk

Nottingham Trent University / The University of Nottingham
Adam Dunleavy - Adam.Dunleavy@ntu.ac.uk

Sheffield Hallam University
Abbie Sadler - Abbie.Sadler@TheFA.com

contact our southern cdo team

University of Chichester
Adrian Penrose - A.Penrose@chi.ac.uk

University of Gloucestershire
Abbie Sadler - Abbie.Sadler@TheFA.com

St Mary’s University
Craig Taylor - Craig.Taylor@stmarys.ac.uk

Plymouth University
Natasha Mills - NMills@marjon.ac.uk

Essex University
Rose Webb -RWebb@essex.ac.uk

How will you support me?

There are lots of different ways we can support you and work together.

We know that everyone is different and people learn in different ways. That’s why we offer different types of support at each of our women’s high performance centres. Take a look at what's available below.

1:1 sessions

Get one-to-one, individual support from your CDO that's personalised for you and your team. Focus on the areas that you want to develop and build new coaching skills for training and match-day.

Workshops

Join other coaches from your area in group presentations and activities led by your CDO. Build new connections with other coaches from the women's and girls' game and learn new skills in our selection of workshops through the season.

Seminars

Join specialist coaching discussions, debates and presentations on various different topics throughout the season. Build new connections with other coaches near you and learn about different topics and themes during our seminars.

Community of practice

Join other coaches from your area to share ideas and knowledge and discuss the coaching challenges you face. Hear how others may have overcome challenges and and achieved success and work with your CDO on relating ideas to your coaching context.

Observations (match)

Your CDO will work with local clubs to showcase different match day coaching environments. Hear presentations from coaches and managers on their match preparation and strategies. Develop your observation and analysis skills through tasks led by your CDO and undertake discussions with other coaches to broaden your knowledge of the game.

Observations (training)

Your CDO will work with local clubs to provide insight into how coaches plan and deliver their sessions and how they incorporate a multi-disciplinary team. Pick up new session ideas, observe coaching interventions and see different coaching styles. Develop your network of contacts and work with the CDO on how you might apply what you see to your players.