Richard Luscombe Argyle Community Trust has a proud history of breaking barriers to participation in sport within the communities we proudly serve in Devon and Cornwall. This is particularly evident in our support and opportunities created for female footballers, with a thriving pathway starting from the Wildcats at age five all the way through to Plymouth Argyle Women’s first team.
Sienna Gilbert is one of many recent success stories, having had a breakthrough year in her football career. Sienna recently made her Plymouth Argyle Women first team debut, and her home debut at the Theatre of Greens. A proud moment for Sienna, her family, and Argyle Community Trust and a testament to her ability and hard work, and the doors our programmes can open.
“I’m really happy to have made my debut this season for the first team, and for it to come so early,” said a proud Sienna. “I feel I’ve put in all the hard work and effort over the last few months to get me in this position, and making my debut at Home Park made it much better than I thought it would ever be.”
Sienna has been training with our Cornwall Post-16 Football and Education programme since the beginning of 2025 and joined the programme fully for pre-season in August. She has now officially joined the Cornwall programme, and we are thrilled that our coaches and tutors are supporting her football development alongside an outstanding academic provision.
Sienna added: “I can’t thank the coaches at Argyle enough. Obviously I feel I’ve put in a lot of personal work to get here but they have continued to drive me forward and help with my development which has allowed me to grow immensely as a player, but also off the pitch with my education.”
Sienna will represent our women’s team in the Community and Education Football Alliance (CEFA) and national leagues, while also playing for Plymouth Argyle Women. It is a great example of how our pathway identifies local talent and creates academic and elite sporting opportunities for young footballers in the region.
Cornwall Post-16 Programme Lead, Jamie Day, said: “We are delighted to see Sienna’s progress recognised with her first-team debut for Plymouth Argyle Women. She has shown real commitment and quality since joining the Cornwall Post-16 programme, and it’s fantastic to see her hard work paying off.”
Deputy Head of Education at Argyle Community Trust, Mike Foley, added: “We are incredibly proud to be building a pathway that creates genuine opportunities for both male and female players.
“To see Sienna making her debut for Argyle Women and representing the Under 18s with Olympia Hendrikse shows the strength of the foundation we now have on our Cornwall programme.
“Our female pathway is going from strength to strength, and with our Post-16 Education programme at its strongest ever, we are now providing a clear and exciting platform for talented young women to thrive both on and off the pitch.
“We are confident this is only the beginning of an exciting new era for Cornwall-based girls and women in football at Argyle Community Trust.”
The Argyle Community Trust Post-16 Football and Education Programme is not your average college programme – train and play like a professional footballer whilst gaining industry recognised qualifications. Learners get once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to attend overseas residentials; this year, students went to Spain and the US, and unparalleled opportunities in sport through our links with Plymouth Argyle and partners.
To find out more about the Plymouth programme, please contact daniel.yeoman@pafc.co.uk, the Cornwall College programme, please contact jamie.day@pafc.co.uk, and the Newton Abbot programme, please contact matt.scholes@pafc.co.uk. You can also visit https://argylecommunitytrust.co.uk/what-we-do/post-16-football-programme/.
