England Elite Coach Programme gets underway at St. George’s Park
Seven female coaches from across the game are involved in the 2023-24 England Elite Coach Programme.
Coaches on the 2023-24 England Elite Coach Programme met at St. George’s Park to officially mark the beginning of this year’s programme.
This initiative is jointly owned by The FA and the PFA as part of a shared commitment to develop greater equality of coaching opportunities and increase the diversity of coaches working in the game.
The programme is designed to give successful applicants the essential experience, skills and knowledge to obtain roles in elite and national coaching and technical roles in football in the future.
Sitting alongside a similar scheme in the men’s game, this programme is particularly focused on coaches who are female and those of Black, Asian, Mixed or other ethnic backgrounds.
Seven female coaches will be joining the England women’s development teams from WU23s through to WU15s groups. This year’s cohort of coaches includes:
- Remi Allen – WU23s – Birmingham City, player
- Emily Simpkins – WU19s – Birmingham City, first team coach
- Carly Williams – WU17s – Arsenal, academy player care lead and WU21 assistant coach
- Renee Hector – WU17s – Watford, WU21s head coach
- Estelle Handy – WU16s – Formerly Charlton Athletic, WU14s head coach
- Sabiha Jamal – WU16s – West Ham United, WU16s coach
- Manisha Tailor – WU15s, QPR, assistant head of coaching in the boys’ academy
All seven coaches will be embedded with their respective technical coaching teams and enjoy an active role throughout the 2023-24 season, assisting with the delivery of coaching sessions and participating in technical meetings before, during and after each international camp.
This will provide them with the opportunity to gain vital knowledge, understanding and skills through learning and development opportunities.
Two of the coaches, Carly Williams and Estelle Handy, were a part of our 2022-2023 Mentee Development Programme.
This programme gives 10 aspirational coaches an individualised learning and development experience, providing regular exposure to The FA’s technical department and a valuable platform to opportunities such as the England Elite Coaching Programme.
Kay Cossington, The FA’s women’s technical director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome these seven highly motivated and talented coaches into our development teams.
“We have a shared commitment with the PFA to the development of quality coaches and to also encourage more females from historically underrepresented groups to seek a fulfilling and successful career in coaching.
“We’re confident those we’ve appointed will benefit from the high-performance environment that our England teams operate within and make an extremely positive impact on the age groups they’re now part of.”
Mark Jules, coach educator at the PFA, said: “This is a great opportunity for female PFA members on their coaching journey to gain experience working with the various England development teams.
“The aim of the PFA and the FA, through this scheme, is to support these talented female coaches from underrepresented groups during their coaching pathway. The England Elite Coach Programme will enhance their knowledge, skills and understanding through working in this elite high-performance environment.”
Watch the highlights from the introduction day at St. George’s Park below: