Gower College Swansea’s Football Academy has been awarded the prestigious FAW Trust Focus College Award.
This award was presented in recognition of the achievements of both the college’s men’s and ladies’ football academies.
“To qualify, our football programme had to meet set targets in terms of player welfare, coaching, training and facilities,” says Gower College Swansea’s Student Sport Manager Rob Baynham. “This is a major achievement for the Football Academy which aims to develop elite level footballers and increase the number of quality coaches in the community through development work.”
This season has seen exciting progress for all college academy teams. The men’s academy is currently top of both the ECFA Premier League and the ECFA Regional League, competing against the best college teams in the UK.
The ladies’ academy is top of the Welsh Colleges League with one game remaining and is through to the final play off stages of the British Colleges Cup.
Following this success eight boys and three girls* have been selected for the Welsh Colleges International teams for their forthcoming fixtures.
Players from the ladies’ football academy have been very busy recently promoting ladies football for 14-16 year old girls in Swansea. This involved organising a 5-a-side competition for local schools with the students organising, officiating and helping with coaching at the event, which saw Gowerton Comprehensive beating Bishop Gore in an exciting final.
Meanwhile, coaches from the men’s academy will be hosting a football coaching clinic for local comprehensive schools on 25 March. This event will provide Year 9 and 10 pupils with the chance to receive academy coaching while developing their skills.
Anyone interested in the Football Academy programme can email richard.south@gowercollegeswansea.ac.uk for more information.
*The students selected for the Welsh Colleges International teams for their forthcoming fixtures are:
Men's Welsh school: Kyle Cockins and Ryan Thomas
Men's Welsh Colleges: Luke Fleming; Josh Chanda; Kyle Cockins; Tom Grey and Josh Doyle
Men's Semi Pro Welsh Squad: Richard Brain and Adam Robbins
Ladies Welsh College: Zoe Hatch; Angharad Jenkins and Amy Marie Evans.