The girls enjoyed their day out at the home of football
On Monday, March 13, members of the Gillingham FC Girls Academy team took a trip to Wembley Stadium thanks to UFCB Wembley.
The girls got the full Wembley experience on the day, getting to visit the players’ changing rooms, experience the press area, and walk through the tunnel onto the hallowed turf!
The trip was also a chance for the girls to learn more about potential further education opportunities in the sector. UCFB deliver a range of degree programmes in the strategic, operational and business facets of the football business, and wider sport and events industries.
As part of their visit, the Girls Academy team were shown the different course available to study at UFCB, including PE teaching, Sports Psychology, Football Business and Marketing, and Football Management and Coaching. They also had a seminar in an executive box looking out over the pitch, visited the library, and got to explore the lecture theatres to see what it would be like to study there.
The team also got to meet a graduate of UFCB, who discussed her experiences as a student, and the opportunities her degree had opened up to her since graduating. She landed her dream full-time job straight out of university, working alongside professional football clubs and undertaking placements behind the scenes of places including the FA. Her story provided inspiration and food for thought for our Girls Academy players on what they could achieve after college.
The girls’ trip also coincided with the launch of the FA’s “For All” campaign, which includes a ‘Gameplan for Growth’ that aims to double the number of women and girls taking part in football by 2020.
Georgia Bowie, Women and Girls’ Development Officer, said of the visit: “I was overwhelmed by the opportunities that UFCB offer to students that are interested in various aspects of football. As a university graduate myself, I was in awe at the experiences that the University can offer, not just academically but socially and professionally, in such a wonderful setting. Young people now have so many opportunities to experience and try new and exciting things that can lead them into a career that they are genuinely passionate about. UFCB recognise how girls’ football is on the rise, and provides great opportunities for talented and passionate females to study the sport they love.”
Want to be part of the Post-16 Gills Girls Academy next year? Applications are now open – find out more here, or contact gbowie@priestfield.com for more information.