Gillingham FC, Community Trust awarded a three year licence to operate as a Tier 2 Regional Talent Club.
With the restructuring of the current girls’ England talent pathway clubs were invited to apply for Regional Talent Club (RTC) licence status for 2016-2017. RTCs will replace the current Centre of Excellence and Player Development Centre model and will deliver enhanced coaching and support, designed to further enhance the development of elite female players.
There are some major changes to the current set-up which will see age groups return to U10s, U12s, U14s and U16s and revert back to the traditional categorising of age groups on school year rather than year of birth.
The biggest changes will come for the two younger age groups who will now compete in a local junior boys league while the two older age groups will continue to play fixtures against other RTCs.
Centre Manager, Georgia Bowie said: “We are delighted that we have been awarded a licence to run an RTC for the coming 2016-17season.
“Gillingham Football Club has become a leading example of Girls Football in Kent, and we are proud to run a successful and ever improving RTC for girls and young women in the South East.
“There are some significant changes to the current format and we are looking forward to embracing them. The squads have played a number of games against local boys teams this season and they’ve been a great success and one the girls have very much enjoyed.”
Technical Director, Mark Patterson added: “We are one big Gills family, and we have a fantastic team spirit throughout, from the U9s right up to our Girls Academy and Ladies Team. Our aim is and always has been to set the perfect learning environment, which is crucial to aid the development of the hugely talented pool of girls we have at Gillingham. Our staff work incredible hard to ensure we give our girls the best possible opportunity to fulfill their potential and are a real credit to the club and we are all looking forward to the new season”.
Everyone at the club is looking forward to another successful season with the Centre.
The centre will be holding its trials for the new season this June, for full details please click here.
To find out more about our Girls Centre of Excellence please click here or contact Georgia Bowie, gbowie@priestfield.com or 01634 350125.