St Mary’s Extends Partnership with The FA as a Women’s High Performance Football Centre

St Mary’s University, Twickenham has extended its partnership with the FA to deliver a Women’s High Performance Football Centre (WHPFC) until 2024, having been one of the original Universities starting the project in 2017.

St Mary’s is one of ten universities partnering with the FA, including Northumbria University, Manchester Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University and University of Nottingham consortium, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Gloucestershire, Plymouth Marjon University and University of Chichester. The University of Essex and Birmingham City University will also join the partnership until 2024.

The centres provide an educational and community-based programme to recruit and develop coaches within the women’s and girl’s’ game. They will help develop talented coaches and players, who will benefit from a range of high-quality, bespoke opportunities.

This partnership will enable universities to provide a wide range of student placements from strength and conditioning, sport therapy, performance analysis, marketing, media and business management which will benefit clubs from across the football pyramid and women’s football academies as they will be able to recruit coaches, and other members of the workforce.

Sport Development Manager at St Mary's, Gareth Crewe said “Working with The FA has significantly increased the work that we have been able to facilitate in developing coaches within female football, helped us secure additional funding for academic research that has improved the practice of students on our degree programmes, and increased the University’s outreach through our Goalkeeper Centre that has supported talented players onto the England pathway. Through these benefits and more, being part of the WHPFC programme has helped enhance St Mary’s’ reputation as a leading hub for coach development in the female game.”

Head of Sport St Mary’s, Andrew Reid-Smith said “St Mary’s is delighted to extend our partnership with the FA, and to continue to support women’s and girls’ football to keep progressing. With the incredible performances and success at the Euros by the Lionesses, this offers our students and others, great opportunities to develop as coaches and as part of the wider football workforce.”

To find out more about the WHPFC at St Mary’s, please visit the University website.