Everton provide Working Links for female footballers

Thu 3rd Feb 2011 | Marketing & PR

Would-be female football professionals are being welcomed onto a course run by a leading work and skills organisation in partnership with a Premier League football club to encourage more women in sport.

A six-week training course, “Outside The Box” run by Working Links and Everton in the Community, the charitable arm of Everton Football Club, is encouraging ladies in Merseyside to gain qualifications in football and a whole host of other sports.

Starting next month, women who are currently unemployed in Merseyside can take part in the six-week Everton Foundation course. Based at Goodison Park, certificates include Level One FA football coaching, disability football coaching and basketball coaching.

Other qualifications and workshops include certificates in employability, business awareness, safeguarding children, equality and diversity, health and safety and first aid.

The course has been developed by Working Links’ Sports Development and Social Inclusion manager Richard Ellison in conjunction with Everton in the Community, which uses the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire the community through sport and social opportunities.

England Women and Everton Ladies goalkeeper Rachel Brown, recognised as one of the best goalkeepers in the country, is one of the tutors on the course. She said: “The course offers the chance to gain a variety of qualifications and really helps build self-confidence as well as learning to work well as a team with lots of new people.”

Working Links has already run a highly successful course with the Everton in the Community to encourage young people of both genders to gain sports coaching and skills certificates. So far, 26 people have completed the course, which has a 100 per cent success rate

Rachel added:  “I've seen the changes in people's attitudes and self-esteem improve over the six- week course which is a brilliant feeling for staff and the young people involved who gain the qualifications.   It's an amazing opportunity and one any woman shouldn't miss out on.”

The training course is run as part of Working Links’ Community Direct project funded via the European Social Fund. The course begins Tuesday February 22.

Richard said: “As well as the qualifications, the course provides transferable skills that can be taken to any job. Whilst we use football as a subject that has a huge place in Merseyside hearts, the qualifications gained at Everton can be used in everyday life.

To have a 100% success rate is no fluke. We’ve developed this with other clubs such as Middlesbrough and found the same results there too. This course will be the first purely for women and will showcase the fact that there is a place for women in football.”

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