Coaching is the focus of this week’s positive Football Association feature reviewing the impact of the ‘Gameplan for Growth’ Strategy for the women’s and girls’ game, which has seen 5,180 new female coaches qualify between 2017 and 2020.

Launched in March 2017, the strategy pledged to tackle ambitious targets to double participation (by doubling the number of affiliated teams), double the game’s fanbase and create a high-performance system and world-class talent pipeline for England teams to achieve consistent success on the world stage. Over the next few weeks, The FA will be sharing the results.

After four seasons, the strategy is now concluding, and The FA will be outlining their continued backing for the sport. They’ll be sharing the stories of individuals who have been integral to the strategy’s success, with six features on: participation, fanbase, coaching, refereeing, England teams and the professional game.

Following a look at participation numbers in the last feature, this week’s focus is on coaching. As well as positive case studies from around England, The FA's Head of Women's Coach Development, Audrey Cooper, takes a look at the positive impact on the recruitment and development of coaching in the women’s and girls’ game, which include:

* female coaches with the UEFA 'A' qualification have increased from 41 in 2017 to 82 in 2020
* 34,581 coaching qualifications for female coaches from levels one to five
* 67% increase in female head coaches with England teams
* 333% increase in female head coaches/managers in the FA Women's Super League and Championship

Read more about the Gameplan for Growth by clicking here. Further details on female football in Essex can be found in the menus above, by following @EssexCountyFA on Twitter and by searching for ‘EssexFootball’ on Facebook.