As a community owned football club, Exeter City Community Trust is proud to work with partners across the community to deliver our female football pathway here in Exeter.
From out weekly tots’ sessions for girls aged three and over, to the Exeter City Women’s first team, there is an offering for footballers of all ages to develop their skills and enjoy the game that they love.
At the heart of this is the Girls’ Development Centre, which delivers a technical and tactical programme through weekly training sessions throughout the season, and regional fixtures held during the school holiday periods.
The programme is designed to support player development, with players encouraged to continue representing their local grassroots clubs & schools whilst attending the Centre.
Beyond the GDC, ECCT work in partnership with Exeter College - who play a key role throughout the pathway - to offer the opportunity to join the Women’s Football Academy from the age of 16.
The WFA programme is based upon furthering a player's education alongside football, with the team playing regular fixtures throughout the academic year. Exeter City Women’s Team Manager Aaron Wakley works alongside the College to ensure there is a strong pathway from the programme towards both the Women’s teams at Exeter City.
At the Community Trust, participation is a considerable component of the opportunities on offer. Our team of UEFA qualified coaches lead sessions at the Exwick Sports Hub for the Wildcats and Squad Girls groups. These sessions, for children aged 5-14, are to allow girls to enjoy football at whatever ability they may currently be playing at.
We also offer a PAN Disability Wildcats session at Wonford Sports Centre. Sessions are completely free to attend and encourage girls with learning difficulties, physical or mobility issues, and sight or hearing impairment to play football with confidence in a supportive environment.
With school tournaments for girls, such as the Catherine Fraser Memorial Tournament, holiday clubs and the success of our ‘Girls Only’ day during the summer break, we are committed to offer every opportunity for young girls to get involved in playing football.
Visit Exeter City Community Trust - Exeter's leading health and wellbeing charity (exetercct.org) for a full list of all the opportunities that we offer.