Wildcats with Derby County Community Trust gives Blythe the opportunity to progress onto the FA Talent Pathway

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Blythe attends Derby County Community Trust’s FA Wildcats provision and she has become a role model to those around her, but she was not always the confident, bright young girl she is today.

The programme aimed at young girls aged 5-11 promotes a non-competitive, fun environment for all from those wanting to try football for the first time to girls who just want to play the game with girls the same age as them.

With emphasis on fun, Blythe has not only done that but has shown such enthusiasm, and commitment to the sessions that she epitomises the Wildcats values.

Blythe’s commitment paired with her talent has seen her refereed to the FA Talent Pathway.

The Talent Inclusion programme ensures that through existing community activities,  participants with potential can be identified and referred to the FA England Women’s Talent Pathway. The programme is specifically run by EFL Club Community Organisations, who engage with young girls from low social economic communities and underrepresented groups, and looks to refer talented players who may not access traditional talent pathways due to social class, ethnicity and demographic.

When first attending Wildcats, Blythe was a shadow of the person she has become today, a shy character with very low confidence. The programme has provided her a safe, enjoyable, consistent environment to excel in with the potential to provide her opportunities that she would not be granted if she was not to attend.

Wildcats has had such a huge affect on Blythe, that she has recommended it to her peers in and outside of school but it is not only Blythe who the programme has impacted.

Blythe’s mother Rose, works tiredly to provide opportunity and an amazing life for her children and with the Trust being so important to her daughters development both as a person and as a football player, Rose has started her own journey with the Trust as a way to give back.

She volunteers her own time to help out on the delivery of Wildcat sessions, Premier League Kicks sessions and holiday activities that the Trust run throughout the year.

EFL Clubs roll out new BA Hons Degree increasing education opportunities for all.

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Football fans who want to learn about the business of football can study at their football Club thanks to a new BA Hons degree course in Sports Business Management which will be available at 17 EFL Clubs from September 2023.

Delivered in partnership with the University of South Wales, the degree is specifically designed for students who are looking for a career in business and management within the sports industry. Each individual will get the unique chance to study at their local football Club, often at the stadium via an online learning platform and will receive mentoring support and practical work experience through the Club’s community organisation.

To launch the degree, BTEC students from QPR were invited to demonstrate their business acumen and to come up with ways to boost match day revenue for the Club. Their ideas were pitched to a group of football ‘dragons’, including QPR players Josh De Silva and Trent Rendall.

You can see how they got on here.

QPR are one of 17 EFL Clubs running the new degree from September where students will cover topics including business planning, financial management and marketing.

The first pitch at the launch event was by Avante Joseph and Myles Mari who presented the ‘QPR App, giving fans the chance to access exclusive content about the Club, from the men’s first team to the academy, as well as live commentary of games.

The second pitch by Denzel Magezi, Matheus Rossi and Oliver Hearn-Lee proposed the ‘E-sports room’ offering fans the opportunity to compete in E-Sports tournaments against their heroes in renowned games such as FIFA and Fortnite.

The final pitch came from Angela Oceja, who’s idea was a pre and post-match ‘Community Festival’ to ensure the Club embraced every aspect of its local community. It would give a platform to local DJs, performers, food business and other local entertainers to participate.

On the judging panel the ‘dragons’ included Josh De Silva and Trent Rendall from QPR, Emily Fermor of Hanbury Strategy and Jay Probert from the University of South Wales.

Emily said: “We were very impressed with the plans and it was obvious that the students had done their market research. We were particularly impressed with how each pitch had considered and looked to improve the fan’s experience and deciding the winner was very difficult.”

After a long deliberation of three very impressive pitches the judges awarded Denzel, Matheus and Oliver’s ‘E-sport room’ as the overall winners, with the trio taking home their very own tablet as their prize. Trent commented: “The market research the students had carried out was very impressive. We could really see how this would work and would be something that we’d be excited to get involved in.”

Cathy Abraham, Chief Executive of the EFL Trust said, “The degree is a fantastic opportunity for people to learn about the business side of sport and to do so while getting invaluable hands on experience at a professional Football Club. This is another great example of how Clubs use the power of the badge and their unique position in the community to improve people’s education and chance of gaining meaningful employment.“

Clubs delivering BA Hons Degree in Sport Business Management:
Accrington Stanley, AFC Fylde, Barnsley, Birmingham City, Burton Albion, Cardiff City, Carlisle United, ,Derby County, Exeter City, Hull City, Leyton Orient, Lincoln City, Nottingham Forest, Preston North End, QPR, Sheffield United, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers,West Brom Albion.

To find out more about the degree go to www.efltrust.com/ba-sports-business-and-management/