Black History Month 2019
Gloucestershire FA celebrated Black History Month by running two CPD Coaching Events in Gloucestershire and Bristol.
Gloucestershire FA ran two CPD Events in the North and South area of the county to celebrate Black History Month.
The first event was held at Lockleaze Sports Centre with support from Bristol Rovers Community Trust.
The evening consisted of hearing from The FA Coach Inclusion and Diversity Manager, Butch Fazal and The FA Regional Coach Mentor Officer, Steve Smithies both talking about Black History Month and diversity in football.
Bristol Rovers Community Trust Community Manager, Matt Bennett shared with the audience, about the opportunities his organisation is exploring in creating more opportunities for BAME coaches and creating “an environment that is safe, inclusive for anybody whether your gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity.”
Attendees heard updates on Local and National BAME inclusion initiatives, FA Coaching Pathway & further CPD opportunities and observed a coaching session from Patrick Wilson, FA Elite Mentee.
There was a panel discussion and Q+A with Bristol Rovers and Bristol Central coach Derek Scale, Inclusion Advisory Group (IAG) member Sharifa James and Founder of Back 2 Action Rayan Wilson.
The second event held at Widden Primary School, saw attendees hear from Steve Smithies and Paul Gardiner, West Bromwich Albion Development Centre Manager & FA Tutor.
There was another coaching session observation delivered by Emmanuel Ebode, Head Coach at University of Goldsmiths Men’s football team.
The panel discussion was made up of Paul, Emmanuel, Rising Stars Youth FC Gloucester and IAG Member Mo Patel and FA Coach Mentor Darren Mullings.
During both evenings the audience heard from Gloucestershire FA Coach Education Officer Richard Todd giving updates on the coaching and CPD opportunities.
There were a few words given by FA Regional Coach Mentor Officer Ciara Allen and FA Coach Mentors Kurt Doyle and Chris Hicks about the mentoring support available for coaches in the county.
Both panel discussions shared their stories on how they became involved win the sport, challenges they’ve faced and suggesting ideas to help grow participation and involvement of diverse individuals in football.
Steve Smithies said regarding the events: "Great evening, so good to see so many diverse speakers and also speakers to talking about how passionate they are about inclusion, supporting football and the growth of the game."
Naomi Reid shared her opinion on the event, “I thought the event was really good and inspiring [listening] to people talking about their different coaching experiences on their coaching pathway.”
She carried on to say, what she would take moving forward is “knowing there’s not a ceiling and I can progress to the next level and improve my coaching.”
Take a look at some of the highlights from the events below.
Visit our website to find out about the Coaching courses, Mentoring and Support we offer.
Get in touch with Bristol Rovers Community Trust to find out about the coaching opportunities they have available for BAME coaches.