Among the Foundation’s 35 programmes is the Player Pathway, which is delivered in partnership with the women’s team and the Academy of Football.
The Player Pathway provides structured opportunities for young players to develop on and off the pitch, offering boys and girls a pathway from grassroots participation to elite-level performance. Over 250 girls participate in Women’s Youth Team sessions each week, giving young players a genuine route to progress to the professional game.
Skinner believes the programme gives young female footballers inspiration to pursue a career in the game that did not exist a generation ago.
“From the start of the programme, it’s about getting a real love for the game early on, and the more people we can create a passion in to play the game, the more they will filter back into the community to help more people, and we get a really positive cycle going round,” Skinner observed, while watching a session being put on by the WYT’s Under-12 squad.
“Obviously the more players who are playing, the stronger the game is going to be, because as those players filter up and improve, the game gets better English players and we get better players for England, and we keep winning Euros and West Ham keep playing in the Super League and challenging at the top of the game - that’s basically the plan and I think that’s really important.”