Leicester City Girls' Regional Talent Club - Tier 1

Background History to The Leicester City FC Regional Talent Club

Leicester City FC Girls’ Centre of Excellence has been awarded a prestigious licence for a Regional Talent Club -Tier 1. The RTC sits within the FA’s Talent ID Pathway which seeks to develop players from grassroots clubs and the school curriculum level, through to Community Football and the Tesco Skills Programme, on to affiliated clubs, and then moving up to the FA’s RTC programme before progressing on to women’s senior football and ultimately on to England international level. 

The Leicester City FC RTC Tier 1 has solid foundations, having been established in 1999 and being one of the first Centres of Excellence to gain a licence from the FA to develop young talented female footballers as part of the FA Talent Pathway. There were previously 52 Centres of Excellence in the UK but the number of successful licence applications reduced to 35 following a stringent new Application and Review with only 13 being awarded a Tier 1 licence. 

We believe that talent at all levels should be nurtured and that we should make concerted efforts to raise the profile of girls’ football so that our elite players not only receive the recognition they deserve but also become strong role models for girls’ participation in all sport across Leicestershire and the wider football community. 

Staff

Centre Manager - Jo Sjoberg 

Technical Director - Raffaele Long 

Under 10s Coaches - Annie Zaidi & Josh Taylor 

Under 12s Coaches – Jose Llorente Parra & Tom Leeder 

Under 14s Coaches – Ben Law & Daniel Corlett 

Chartered Physiotherapist - Jessica Guest 

Structure and Accountability 

We operate four age groups, from U10 through to U16, with approximately 16 players per age group. We adhere to strict FA Licence Agreement Terms in all aspects of running the RTC on a day to day basis. We remain fully accountable to the FA throughout the season, with monitoring visits from the FA, to assess our administrative procedures, and our technical coaching skills and strategies. We also remain accountable throughout to Leicester City Football Club. 

Each age group has two coaches, a Head Coach and an Assistant Coach. The Coaches report directly to our Technical Director, who contributes towards the running of the Centre along with the Centre Manager. 

Our coaching staff remain under constant review, undergoing Staff Performance Reviews each season. In addition, they are each required to attend a full CPD Programme specified by the FA. All of our staff attend a programme of In-Service Events, some of which the FA run and others which we arrange and may tailor more specifically to our own requirements. 

Training Sessions and Fixtures 

Each age group participates in a minimum of two 2-hour training sessions per week. Our training strategy is focussed around the FA’s four corners of development, namely technical, physical, social and psychological. 

Our season is 36 weeks long. We engage in a full fixture programme for our U10 through to our U16, playing in the RTC programme or a charter standard league for the U10 &U12 age groups. Our U16, in addition to their league matches and friendly matches, also compete in the Girls’ RTC National Cup. 

National Performance Camps 

During the season several players have attended England NPC and played games at U15 and U16 levels. England Talent ID scouts regularly attend our fixtures. For the 2015/6 season we also have a number of our players in the England Schools' Football Association Under-15 national squad. 

Case Studies

A few examples of players who have risen through the ranks of our RTC are as follows:- 

Remi Allen - joined the GCOE and progressed through every age group before earning a place in Leicester City Women’s first team. Remi was selected for England Under 16s whilst at the GCOE. Following her time with Leicester City Women she moved to Women’s Super League Club Lincoln City. She also currently plays for the England Under 23s. 

Kirsty Linnett - Kirsty followed a similar early pathway, being selected for England Under 16s whilst with the GCOE. She progressed on to Leicester City Women’s first team before being offered a Further Education programme at Arsenal. She now plays for Birmingham City. 

Rachel Williams – Progressed right through the GCOE before joining the Leicester City Women’s first team. She moved to Birmingham City and Chelsea and is now at Notts County. Along her pathway she also played for England Seniors. 

Safeguarding 

As part of our team of staff we have Physiotherapists and Physical Performance coaches. All attend our training sessions and fixtures to ensure that the girls are offered a safe environment within which to participate to their maximum ability. These members of staff provide a full programme of advice, treatment, support and rehabilitation in respect of any injuries sustained which may have an impact upon their participation in football, whether those injuries are sustained at the RTC or elsewhere. 

To complete our team of staff, we use the services of the LCFC Children’s Welfare Officer, Dale Bradshaw, to deal with all welfare related issues in respect of players and staff. In addition, all members of staff are required to complete the FA’s Safeguarding Qualification, which then has to be regularly updated. This ensures that all appropriate steps are taken to adequately safeguard the welfare and safety of our players.

Player Recruitment and Exit Routes

Players can access the RTC at any age group. We hold open trials that take place prior to the start of each season to recruit new players, although we do have the services of a scout who tends to concentrate on the younger age groups, with strong grassroots connections. 

We also operate grassroots Open Evenings, where coaches from grassroots clubs are invited to observe our coaching sessions over the course of an evening. These are mutually beneficial sessions where our Technical Director does a presentation to the grassroots coaches and enters into a Q & A session so that the coaches themselves may benefit from his technical expertise, whilst we benefit from building invaluable links with grassroots clubs. This is an area that continues to evolve, thereby encouraging the coaches to refer on to the RTC any of their players who show signs of displaying elite skills, thus giving those players the best opportunity to maximise their ability and progress to the summit of the FA’s Talent ID Pathway. 

Wider Benefit to the Local Community

Going forward, we see Leicester City Girls’ Regional Talent Club as having a significant role to play in developing Leicester’s current resources for a co-ordinated approach across the city, county and country, to raise the profile of girls’ sport and create new influential role models for our city’s female players.

 The new Leicester City FC Regional Talent Club will be leading the way in talent identification, player development and creating elite pathways for female footballers via: 

• Developing Personal Skill Sets 

• Improving Physical Wellbeing 

• Developing Teamwork 

• Understanding the Player Pathway from Grassroots to International 

• Individual Training Plans 

• Supporting Players’ Psychological Development 

To summarise, Leicester City Girls’ Regional Talent Club currently provides an efficient, well-structured safe environment for girls with elite football skills in the Leicester locality. It also provides a valuable positive role model to which Leicestershire’s female footballers may aspire. 

Sponsorship Opportunities

We are currently seeking sponsorship for the 2016-2017 season. We would be very pleased to discuss the sponsorship options available but, equally, single donations of any amount would be most welcome. If you would be interested in discussing the opportunities available, you should please contact: - 

Jo Sjoberg 

Centre Manager 

Leicester City FC Regional Talent Club 

Tel: 07870 111222 

Email:  

2016/17 Trials Process 

Our trials for the coming season will be held on the 6th, 9th and 16th June at Stoughton Road University Playing Fields, Stoughton Road, Leicester LE2 4FS. Registration will begin at 5.30pm for the U10 and U12 age groups, with their trials commencing at 6pm and ending at 7.30pm. Registration for the U14 and U16 age groups will begin at 7pm, with trials taking place from 7.30pm until 9pm. You are advised to arrive promptly for registration as we are expecting a high number of trialists. Please note that you will need to register at each session you attend. 

Prior to the trials sessions, and no later than 5pm on June 4th, you are required to complete a Registration Form (please see link). Please print the Registration Form, complete it and scan it. The completed form should be emailed to jo.sjoberg@lcfc.co.uk. Once the Registration Form has been acknowledged by Jo, you should please assume that you are registered to attend BOTH of the Open Trials Sessions (6th June and 9th June) UNLESS you have indicated on your Registration Form that you are only available for one of the Open Trials Sessions. 

Following the conclusion of the two Open Trials Sessions, you will be contacted to inform you whether you have been successful in reaching the Closed Trials. It is therefore important that you indicate on your Registration form whether you would be available to attend the Closed Trial Session should you be invited to do so. 

Following the Closed Trial Session on the 16th June, all remaining trialists will be contacted again to inform them whether they have been successful in reaching the final stage of the process. Successful trialists will then be offered a Player Agreement. 

If you need to send your Registration Form through the post, please send it to Jo Sjoberg, Centre Manager, Leicester City Girls’ RTC, King Power stadium, Filbert Way, Leicester LE2 7FL.