Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust is delighted to announce a new working partnership with the Young Women’s Football Academy (YWFA), Plymouth’s first independent all-female football academy. This strategic affiliation significantly strengthens the Trust’s player pathway, providing enhanced opportunities for young female footballers in Plymouth.
The YWFA, based at Eggbuckland Community College and focusing on girls aged 10 to 14, will serve as a crucial link to the Trust’s formal pathway. This link will ensure that talented players identified by YWFA are fast-tracked into the Trust’s Emerging Talent Centres (ETC) and Advanced Development Centre (ADC) squads, ensuring players can develop through Argyle’s stellar player pathway, with a potential pathway through to Plymouth Argyle Women.
Ashley Brandon, Director of The Young Woman’s Football Academy, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration: “I founded the YWFA to empower girls aged 10 to 14 to develop their footballing skills. We achieve this by providing a safe environment where our girls can grow in confidence, shape their development, and hone their football abilities.
“We are thrilled to be affiliated with Argyle Community Trust. This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to nurture talented girls from our academy and send them to Argyle’s female pathway, where they can showcase their skills at the highest level of football.”
Adam Smietanka, Head of the ETC/ADC Girls Pathway at Argyle Community Trust, highlighted the regional impact of the agreement: “This is a great opportunity for aspiring female footballers in Plymouth and surrounding areas, providing us with even more opportunities to discover potential talent.
“The partnership will see the YWFA provide the Trust with regular recommendations and updates on potential players in their Academy, ensuring no talent is missed.”
The Trust is already celebrating the first success story of this special relationship, with one player joining the pathway from the YWFA.
Millie, who now plays in the under 12s ADC Mayflowers squad, explains how the YWFA prepared her on her journey to the Argyle Girls Pathway: “The YWFA helped increase my confidence. It taught me strength and got me ready for the next part of my football journey.
“I brought a lot of my learnings from the YWFA into the Argyle trials, including body language, technical skills, accurate passing, positioning, and most importantly a positive attitude.”
Adam Smietanka concluded: “Argyle Community Trust is looking forward to seeing this working partnership continue to grow and welcoming many more talented players into our pathway in the near future.”
For more information on the Young Women’s Football Academy, please follow them on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/people/Young-Womens-Football-Academy/61573377020538/.
For more information regarding the Argyle girls’ pathway, please email joshua.chalk@pafc.co.uk or adam.smietanka@pafc.co.uk.
