Karen Carney speaks exclusively with 90min about the FA’s Chase football coaching programme and the importance of eliminating the barriers into coaching that so many people face.
Aligned with the wider goal of increasing participation in the game, the new programme has been launched by the FA to provide opportunities for aspiring coaches who may otherwise face barriers when pursuing their dreams.
The initiative has three main goals; increase participation, break down barriers, and create role models.
“We want as many people coaching as possible, we don’t want any barriers. I think the Chase football coaching programme enables us to do that,” Carney tells 90min.
“My sister was a grassroots coach, and she often said to me quite a few years ago that it’s difficult to take time off work and then also pay to become a coach. Financially, it was taxing on my sister. So, I think the Chase football coaching programme is awesome where it enables people to get their coaching badges for free and it removes those type of barriers.”
“We always want as many people to be coaching as possible, to remove a barrier that my sister mentioned many years ago, I am massively supportive of and really think it’s awesome,” Carney added.
As women’s football continues on it’s upward trajectory, the pathways being put in place for the next generation of Lionesses are ever expanding. Whilst building opportunities for the future stars of England remains an important task, Carney was quick to remind us how it should still be about giving every person a place within football.
“We want every person that plays to represent their country; whether it be for the men’s team, the women’s team, futsal, any England team,” Carney expresses. “But not everyone will have that, so if you’re able to help your local community and help young people through coaching or teaching, I think that’s awesome.”
“I look back to some of my coaches and how impactful they were on my career. If we can provide a pathway for future England players, whoever it might be, fantastic. But not every person is going to have that, so what I believe in is providing a safe environment for people to play and learn life skills.”
Over recent years, the women’s game has seen a handful of coaches depart their positions in club football for international roles. Managers like Emma Hayes, Tanya Oxtoby and Carla Ward have all raised concerns about the difficulty of balancing the demands of club football with that of being a mother.
Oxtoby recently told 90min that her decision to take on the head coach role of the Northern Ireland women’s national team largely came down to the fact that the job allowed her to “be a mum and a coach”.
“It’s about finding environments where everyone can flourish,” emphasises Carney. “Motherhood should never be a barrier, it should be something we embrace.”
“We have to provide environments, understand what it’s like to be a mother, understand what it’s like to have those barriers and to try and help them. At the end of the day, we want women’s football to thrive. So, we need to understand that there are going to be mothers involved in that, and put them in environments where they are going to be able to work and be there for their children.”
The primary objective of the Chase football coaching programme is to provide an accessible football environment for aspiring coaches from the grassroots level, all the way to the top-flight.
Carney spoke with sentimentality of her sister, who has coached at the grassroots level within the community. “I can only speak for my sister,” she reveals. “My sister was a grassroots coach, she’s had a grassroots team from under-10s and has taken them all the way to the first team, she’s a local person with a regular job.”
“I used to come and watch her coach and I’d get involved and be on the sidelines, and I was a little bit older than the team she was coaching but she said, Karen you might play for England one day, but not everyone in this team will. But what I am here to do is provide them with life skills and teach them how to be good people in the community.”
“That’s a genuine thing because I saw it firsthand with my sister. Usually you don’t speak positively about your siblings, but I have so much admiration for mine. Her kids that she coached are brilliant people in the community now from where I lived.”
You can find out more about the Chase football coaching programme, by clicking here.
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