Highly-driven and committed female players are invited to show the Essex County FA Girls Regional Talent Club (RTC) they have the potential to join existing elite squads, with sessions lined-up for Under 10s to 16s players in June.

The unique RTC programme further extends on grassroots level opportunities. The open selection process at Shrub End Community & Sports Centre in Colchester enables any female player from the age of nine all the way through to 15 years of age, regardless of where they play and how long they have been playing for, to come along and attempt to access the FA Girls Talent Pathway.

All RTC age groups train twice a week, with highly-qualified coaches. To support the increase in the training sessions, and to aid player development, the programme offers strength and conditioning sessions once a week as well as access to a physiotherapist. This helps with injury prevention and rehabilitation so players are not just looked after on the field, but off the field, too.

Under 10s and 12s (Monday 17th June)
Registration from 5:45pm, Duration: 6:30-8:00pm

Under 14s (Saturday 22nd June)
Registration from 9:00am, Duration 9:30-11:30am

Under 16s (Saturday 22nd June)
Registration from 10:30am, Duration 11:30am-1:00pm

Recent connections with the University of Essex mean the RTC have been able to offer student volunteering work placements to shadow coaches and staff. For example, one student has been afforded an opportunity to provide video analysis for the Under 14s and 16s.

England Talent Technical Coaches attend some sessions to see players and make recommendations. These visits can lead to invites to National Camps (Under 14s only), and three players within the programme attended last season. Age-specific national team training camps could then follow - an additional three players were invited to for their respective age groups in 2018/19.



Further Selection Day Trials for Essex will be held during the week commencing 24th June. Club Manager, Danielle Warnes, is excited to be participating in another campaign: “The RTC licence has been continually awarded to the Essex County FA for over six seasons now. Each year the programme continues to go from strength to strength.”

“The commitment to offering an opportunity for female players to grow and develop locally still remains. The centre continues to perform on the pitch, with great representation over six seasons into national teams. It also sees continued participation in higher education sporting establishments, FA Women’s Super League academies and FA-led initiatives beyond our Under 16s.”

“Off pitch we’ve continued to meet The FA’s expectations as well as continuing to work towards their vision and mission. We hope, for the 2019/20 season, we can further continue our work in providing our players, through University of Essex student engagement, with workshops on nutrition and psychology, ensuring we support all elements of the game, and the player.”

Register your place by clicking here or E-Mail Danielle Warnes (Club Manager) at EssexRTC@essexfa.com to find out more. Information on girls’ football is also shared on Twitter by @EssexCountyFA and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.

What’s the Regional Talent Club Match Format?

Matches take place with varying formats depending on the age group. The Under 14s and 16s play within The FA’s Girls England Talent Pathway League on Saturday mornings, with the programme split into two. The first part of the season sees the club play in seeding fixtures to determine the most appropriate level for those teams.

In previous years, RTCs played other RTCs based on their ‘tiering’ and not necessarily the ability of the players, so this approach is much more player-focused. Once the seeding fixtures have taken place, this helps determine how the remaining league fixtures are structured. The Under 14s and 16s played against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Charlton Athletic last season.

The Under 10s and 12s play in the local Brentwood Community Football Alliance League against, predominately, other boys teams. But the growth of the league, and the development of grassroots girls’ teams, now sees the RTC playing both boys’ and girls’ teams. Fixtures are played on Sundays. Home games for all age groups are played in Colchester.