South Girls' Development Centre (Football)
As part of the FAW's Female Player Development Pathway, the South Girls' Development Centre aims to support and develop talented female players to progress onto the FAW South Wales Girls Academy squads and Wales youth and senior national women's squads.
South Girls' Development Centre is one of 8 FAW Development Centres located across Wales, all aligned to develop female players 'the Welsh way'. For the 2023 - 2024 season, the programme will support player development across Year 4 to Year 11 school years.
We are pleased to continue our partnership with the FAW in overseeing the South Girls' Development Centre. We are also proud to continue working with the South Wales Football Association and the South Wales Women's and Girls' League to ensure that talented female players in South Wales have opportunities to reach their full potential.
FAW Female Player Development Pathway 2023 - 2024
The stages below highlight the role of Development Centres within the Under 9 through to Under 16 female player development pathway.
| Stage 1 | Players participate at grassroots club level. |
|---|---|
| Stage 2 | Clubs are invited to nominate talented players to attend Development Centre Talent ID events. Players attending our events may be selected to join the South Girls' Development Centre squad. |
| Stage 3 | Secondary school aged players excelling at South Girls' Development Centre may progress further in the pathway and be invited to join the FAW South Wales Girls' Under 14 and Under 16 Academy teams who play in the Cymru licenced Academy games programme. |
| Stage 4 | Exceptional players in the pathway may be selected for the Welsh national youth squads 'Cymru Under 15 - Under 19'. |
Talent ID Events and nominations
Our talent ID process for the 2023 - 2024 season has been completed. Our next talent ID process will take place during Summer 2024 ahead of the 2024 - 2025 season. At the end of the current season, all SWWGL and SWFA club secretaries will receive our talent ID event details and the link to nominate talented players to attend. Players interested in attending our talent ID events should contact their club to discuss nomination.
Our Talent ID events take place annually, with any female player living in and participating in female or mixed (boys) football in the South Wales region eligible to attend following nomination by their club team. Clubs are required to nominate players via the nomination portal ahead of our events. Players interested in attending our centre should contact their club to discuss nomination.
Training and fixtures
Players selected for the South Girls' Development Centre will attend weekly training on the 3G pitch at Cardiff University Sports Fields. The season takes place over five blocks typically between September and May.
Competitive fixtures take place during each block against other FAW Development Centres, pathway girls teams from England and boys academies in Wales. These fixtures are an additional opportunity to work on topics covered in the weekly training sessions, with the importance being placed on player development over results.
Development
Secondary school aged players excelling within the South Girls' Development Centre may be nominated by our coaches to progress further in the pathway and attend FAW South Wales Girls Academy Under 14 and Under 16 squad sessions.
Squad members receive weekly contact time with quality FAW pathway coaches. The key focus for our coaches is player development, with sessions concentrating on technical skills and tactical elements of play. Players also benefit from individual development plans and sport science support.
South Girls' Development Centre sessions are in addition to players' participation in grassroots football.
Get in touch
If you would like further information, please contact us:
