England’s Lionesses: The Next Generation of talent targeting glory

It is 14 years since Kay Cossington received the telephone call, but she tin inactive retrieve it now. The idiosyncratic connected the different extremity was from Blackburn Rovers and she was adamant Cossington had to travel spot this young miss successful action. Cossington, who is the FA’s Women’s Technical Director, was a one-woman set astatine the clip and drove each implicit the state looking for the adjacent procreation of Lionesses.

After immoderate persuading, she yet made the travel up from her location successful Kent to spot Blackburn’s Under-14s play astatine a section tourney successful Preston. “I crook up and determination were kids everywhere,” Cossington tells Standard Sport.

“I had nary thought wherever I was going, truthful I phoned the woman — nary answer. I yet recovered the Under-14s and I was like, ah, I americium guessing this is the subordinate you wanted maine to see. She got the ball, walked circular everyone, scored a extremity and came back. One of her team-mates would triumph the shot and springiness it to her consecutive away. It was astir similar she was a magnet.

“Who was that player? It was Keira Walsh.”

Cossington is afloat of stories similar that arsenic she recalls however the FA unearthed and developed a radical of players who won the Euros successful 2022 and reached the World Cup last a twelvemonth later. There is simply a saying astatine the FA that “champions are calved erstwhile nary 1 is looking” but, erstwhile it comes to the Lionesses, it is hard to find a clip Cossington wasn’t there.

“I watched Lauren James erstwhile she was successful the Under-10s astatine Chelsea,” she says. “I was heading down the driveway to an Under-15 league and I thought, who connected world is that subordinate successful the Under-10s? She was perfectly phenomenal.”

That was a antithetic clip and worlds distant from the set-up Cossington present heads up astatine the FA. When she began moving full-time astatine the organisation 15 years ago, she was 1 of lone 4 members of unit successful the women’s game.

“Here we are 15 years aboriginal with a twin-track endowment pathway, which has millions of pounds that wrapper astir it and an infrastructure of astir 35 members of full-time staff,” says Cossington. “It’s unthinkable to deliberation wherever we person travel from.”

Memories of the Lionesses’ triumph implicit Germany successful the last of Euro 2022 volition travel flooding backmost time erstwhile the sides conscionable again astatine Wembley — and it is the aforesaid erstwhile you sojourn St George’s Park. On the walls extracurricular the National Football Centre, the iconic representation of Chloe Kelly celebrating the winning extremity by whipping disconnected her garment and spinning it successful the aerial is displayed for each to see.

The situation for the adjacent procreation is to transportation connected the way those earlier them person blazed. The wider nationalist did not cognize of Kelly until she wrote her sanction into the past books and the aforesaid goes for the remainder of the squad. They person go household names, with goalkeeper Mary Earps crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but each of it started the infinitesimal they became European champions.

There is assurance the endowment coming done tin execute the aforesaid feats, starting with adjacent summer’s Euros — erstwhile England volition beryllium defending champions. The broadside that won the Euros 2 years agone is evolving and from the XI that started the final, Ellen White and Rachel Daly person retired, portion 4 others are implicit 30.

Earps is 1 of those whose spot is nether menace owed to the signifier of Hannah Hampton. The 23-year-old has had to hold patiently for her chance, earning conscionable 8 caps truthful far, but she kept six cleanable sheets successful 10 matches past play aft becoming Chelsea’s No 1. “I genuinely judge Hannah has each the quality to go the champion successful the world,” said Emma Hayes, who brought Hampton to Chelsea past summer. “I accidental this arsenic the aboriginal USA coach: England are truthful lucky.”

Hayes was arsenic glowing astir different Chelsea youngster, Aggie Beever-Jones, who is besides knocking connected the door. “Don’t hide that name,” said Hayes, successful 1 of her last property conferences earlier joining the USA. “She’s going to beryllium a legend, not conscionable for Chelsea, but for England.”

Beever-Jones was rewarded with her England debut past summertime aft a superb play for Chelsea, wherever she finished arsenic their 2nd apical scorer with 13 goals from 10 starts. The 21-year-old tin play anyplace crossed the guardant enactment and is 1 of respective young players giving manager Sarina Wiegman enactment headaches successful attack.

There is assurance that the Lionesses endowment coming done tin execute the aforesaid feats

Fran Kirby played each crippled arsenic England’s No 10 erstwhile they won Euro 2022, but Jess Park and Grace Clinton person some emerged since then. Park, who turned 23 this week, is 1 of the astir technically talented players to person travel done England’s younker ranks, portion Clinton has blossomed into a potent goalscoring midfielder aft spending past play connected indebtedness astatine Tottenham. Now backmost astatine Manchester United, the 21-year-old is the associated apical scorer successful the Women’s Super League this season.

There is peculiar excitement astir the Under-17s. The extent of endowment is specified that this period England person 2 squads competing astatine the aforesaid clip — 1 astatine the Under-17 World Cup and different playing Euros qualifiers.

The young Lionesses reached the last of that contention this year, a archetypal for England astatine that level, but they were beaten 4-0 by Spain — who present clasp each 4 younker satellite and European women’s titles. Spain, who bushed the Lionesses successful the World Cup last past year, person led the mode connected younker improvement — but the FA are moving to adjacent the gap.

Eleven years ago, Cossington “became obsessed” with however apical teams France, Germany, Japan, Holland, Spain and the USA developed talent. Key findings were however girls played against boys astatine a young property and the Spanish focused connected precocious levels of contention done each property radical and advocated smaller games of five- oregon seven-a-side.

London is astatine the centre of efforts to unearth the adjacent generation. The FA created 60 Emerging Talent Centres (ETC) 2 years agone and present determination are 73, with 9 of them successful London. Centres person been strategically placed to minimise the outgo of question for players, with it present averaging £8 per week alternatively of £50.

The aged determination centres were successful leafy suburbs, but Tottenham’s ETC is close by their stadium successful northbound London. Crystal Palace’s is simply a mile extracurricular Beckenham. This has led to a 127 per cent summation successful the fig of ethnically divers players who are accessing an ETC, portion determination has besides been a 112 per cent summation successful players from low-income backgrounds.

The motorboat of the Discover My Talent programme is besides proving fruitful. It’s an inaugural that invites players to enactment themselves guardant by filling successful a signifier connected the FA website and uploading video footage. Around 4,000 youngsters a twelvemonth are utilizing this way and 21 per cent of players successful England’s endowment excavation astatine Under-15 to Under-17 level person got determination done self-promotion.

The biggest situation of all, however, is making that measurement from younker shot to the nonrecreational game, particularly successful the WSL. The maturation of the league and the wealth flowing into it has been some a assistance and hindrance for the adjacent generation.

Household names specified arsenic Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema person raised standards, but the barroom for getting crippled clip is high. During the 2017-18 season, 60 per cent of WSL players were eligible for England, but present it is conscionable implicit 30 per cent. The FA are stressing the value of the indebtedness marketplace to clubs, but much utmost measures specified arsenic a quota strategy look unlikely. “You tin person a quota of English players successful squads, but successful the extremity if they are not getting immoderate playing minutes it becomes benignant of irrelevant,” says Cossington.

It is wherefore the rebirth of England’s Under-23 broadside 3 years agone has been vital, arsenic it prepares players for the leap to the Lionesses. In the past year, 3 players person made their elder debuts and Wiegman meets play with U23 boss, Emma Coates. Wiegman is excited by the endowment coming done and it was 1 of the reasons she signed a caller declaration done to the 2027 World Cup astatine the commencement of this year. “There’s truthful overmuch potential,” she said. “We person experienced players, but young players coming in. I conscionable consciousness with this squad we tin turn truthful overmuch more.”

Tickets to ticker the Lionesses instrumentality connected Germany astatine Wembley Stadium connected Friday evening are inactive disposable close up to matchday from wembleystadium.com/tickets