Female football coaches will get free, tailored support and mentoring to help them develop their coaching practice under a new programme being rolled out in our area.

The FA have appointed Adam Furness as our local mentor, and he’ll be working with an initial group of 10 coaches from grassroots football to support them, increase their skills and confidence and ultimately help to grow the female game.

Adam will be working closely with Northumberland FA’s Football Development Officer (Women and Girls) Lloyd Miller to deliver the programme over the coming months. It’s hoped it can be rolled out further in the future.

Adam said: “This is an exciting time for Women and Girls football both locally and nationally, and the FA have shown their commitment to it by deploying FA Mentors in local areas right across England. being deployed locally across England. This programme represents a major investment in the grassroots game and offers free on-the-ground support to female coaches.”

Lloyd added “We’re extremely excited to have Adam working closely with some of our female coaches. He’ll provide individual and group support, targeting the needs and wants of each coach to improve their coaching confidence and knowledge.

“Coaches will benefit from a blend of face-to-face and online support in sharing best practice and reflection, to continually improve coach development here in our region. The extra support will also allow mentees to embrace a programme which supplements their coaching journey and will help grow the female game even further.”