Foundation Awarded Top Status In New Regional Talent Club Programme

10 May 2016 by David Winterburn


THE York City Football Club Foundation is delighted to announce that they have been awarded Tier 1 status in the FA’s new Regional Talent Club programme.

Licences have been awarded today for newly-created Regional Talent Clubs (RTC) which will be responsible for the delivery of elite girls’ football development nationally.

Following a six-month application process, 34 clubs and centres will deliver coaching and education to the best young female footballers in the country on three-year licences.

The clubs have been grouped into three tiers, dependent on their facilities, workforce, coach and player development, performance service provision and the number of age groups they will work with, with Tier 1 being the highest level. The clubs will also have FA funding aligned to their tier, which they are required to match fund a percentage of, and increased FA support.

RTCs have replaced the former Centre of Excellence model and will deliver enhanced coaching and support designed to improve the development of elite female players through the FA Girls’ England talent pathway.

As part of the changes, RTC age groups will run alongside the academic year, starting in September. For the first time, girls’ Under-10 and Under-12 teams will compete in Charter Standard youth leagues, to enable players to further develop both technically and physically. The older age groups will compete in FA organised fixture programmes against other RTCs.

Brent Hills, Head of the Elite Performance Unit, said: “The introduction of Regional Talent Clubs will really enhance the development of the best young female talent in this country and ensure that clubs and centres are better supported in working with them.

“We’d like to congratulate all of the clubs that have been successful. There were some excellent applications which bodes very well for the future of elite female football and the delivery of girls’ coaching.

“Ultimately we are committed to growing the women’s game and developing winning England teams across all age groups and we are confident that these changes will help us deliver just that.”

Paula Stainton, York City Foundation Manager, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been successful in this process. The Foundation are fully committed to the development of female football at all levels, and are excited by the opportunity to develop elite female players. Our aim is to continue to build on the fantastic base already created in York by using the high quality coaching staff from the former North Yorkshire Girls Centre of Excellence.”

Player trials for the York City RTC will begin in June, with details available on request via

yorkrtc.ycfc@hotmail.com