England's FA 2013-2018 Strategy

England's FA, the world's longest standing Football Association, will celebrate its 150th anniversary of existence and it's 20th year of running a women's football program. In 2010-11 the FA reviewed their talent pathway with all their partners leading to a major restructuring. In 2012, with their system now firmly in place, the FA launched the robust "Game Changer" plan outlining how it will move the women's game forward over the next five years to consolidate women's football status as the number one female team sport in England. There are five key elements (click on each to read more):

1. Create an Elite Performance Unit (EPU) and the role of Head of Elite Development to develop young players.
2. Deliver a new commercial strategy for women's football with more broadcast coverage to elevate the profile of the game.
3. Expand the FA Women's Super League by adding a second division to enable promotion and relegation.
4. Grow participation.
5. Grow the fan base.

The strategy intends to harness the energy from the London Olympics, when 70,584 fans watched Team GB defeat Brazil in group play at Wembley. The commitment strives to make women's football a credible and financially more sustainable sport with domestic competitions, robust grassroots game and a successful England team.

The commitments in numbers:

• The FA will invest £3.5m into the women's game (over 2014-2018) to deliver the Elite Performance Unit and expansion of the FA WSL.

• The new EPU will streamline the pathway from youth to senior football via the already existing: 
• 31 Centres of Excellence
• 29 Player Development Centres
• 3 Elite Performance Camps

• The FA Women's Super League will move from 1 division to 2 divisions. 

Still ahead:

• In 2013, the FA will announce implementation plans for increasing participation working with Sport England, key football partners and sponsors.

St. George's Park, the 330-acre national football centre, is the centralized performance centre for coach education, sport science and sports medicine facilities for the FA.

The FA will continue to partner with the English Institute of Sport to deliver sport science, nutrition, strength and conditioning support and lifestyle management services.

“England has been consistently ranked in the top 10 in the world for the past decade. To keep that position and improve on it we need to keep developing at all levels of the game. This wide-ranging and ambitious plan will provide the structure to do that throughout the country and with St George’s Park as our home the women’s game has an exciting future.”
- Hope Powell, England Women National Coach