Emily Petteford is the FA Women & Girls Community Champion for our area. Read below to find out more about Emily and the important role she plays in supporting local female coaches.

What does your role involve?
The role of a Community Champion focuses on the recruitment and deployment of female coaches who are new to the grassroots game as well as those who hold the Introduction to Coaching Football (L1) qualification.

What help will you give coaches if they get in touch?
Support will depend on the coach’s background, context and their needs. However, support can be provided to a club through the delivery of workshops such as 'stepping over the sidelines'. This is targeted at parents and other females who want to get involved in coaching within grassroots football. Coaches can also receive more bespoke 1 to 1 support which can be tailored around them to increase their confidence and help them take their initial steps within coaching. Support can last from 7 weeks and continue throughout the football season.

How can coaches get in touch?
Email me at Emily.Petteford@thefa.com or click here to complete our form and I will be in touch soon.

What makes you want to do this role?
I have worked within grassroots football as a coach for the last 8 years and I am very passionate about developing the female game. I want to provide support to other females within coaching to enable them to have greater confidence within themselves with the aim of encouraging more females to get involved with the game.

Click here to learn more about Emily and the other means of support available to coaches within the Female and Disability Pathways.