Move over Dad; Mums the new coach
By jayson harris
March 5th 2010, 5:09pm
In 2006, then Luton Manager Mike Newell, launched a scathing attack on feminism and female Umpire Amy Rayner saying: "She should not be here. I know that sounds sexist, but I am sexist, so I am not going to be anything other than that".
Since then just one in four coaches in the UK are women, and of these, just 30% have FA coaching qualifications. But this is changing with new initiatives to encourage mums off the side lines and onto the pitch.
Female Coach Development is a three year project aimed at increasing the number of women achieving Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Football funded by The Football Foundation, Jack Petchey Foundation, London Marathon Charitable Trust, Sport England and NIKE.
The English, Scottish and Irish FA's and the Welsh Football Trust have launched a campaign ‘Mums on the Ball' to encourage and help mums become qualified grassroots football coaches for children. The scheme is backed by McDonald's and there are 160 free places available for women throughout the country.
Premiership footballers whose mums are lending their support include Rio and Anton Ferdinand, Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Craig Gordon and Aaron Hughes.
Hope Powell is a beacon for women coaches, appointed as the first-ever full-time National Coach of the England Women's team in June 1998.
Hope first started playing at 11 year old and has won The FA Women's Cup three times, including the league and Cup double as captain of Croydon in 1996.
In 2009, Hope led a senior England Women's side to the Final of the European Championship for the first time since 1984.
Hope is a fully qualified ‘A' Licence coach and in 2003 became the first woman to achieve the UEFA Pro Licence - the highest coaching award available.
More opportunities are being made for women to get involved with football, don't be surprised to see mum, sis or daughter getting onto the pitch.
LCC full interview with Lynne Walcott
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