The Norwich City FC Regional Development Programme (RDP) are delighted to announce a partnership with Haverhill Rovers Football Club in Suffolk for female participants.
The RDP which operates across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Suffolk engages with over 3000 children and young people a week across a variety of youth and community programmes.
The partnership will provide a number of opportunities for young aspiring female footballers and coaches in the region to be involved in additional training opportunities which will include the launch of an exciting Flagship Suffolk Girls Elite Centre which will complement the existing girls centres already in operation, this new flagship centre will operate at The New Croft facility and support forging stronger links with Haverhill Rovers Female section..
The RDP will now be supporting the development of elite girls’ participants from 7-16 years as well as providing exit routes into further educational opportunities at the end of the scheme.
Additionally, the RDP and Haverhill Rovers FC will be working closely together on community opportunities which will be accessible for local children and young people to be involved with, this will include coach development, player development, exit routes into team activity and football tours.
Peter Betts the New Croft Facilities & Football Development Manager, commented: “We’re delighted to be able to partner with the Norwich City RDP for what is an exciting step forward for Haverhill Rovers Football club and The New Croft as a facility, Myself and Kayleigh Steed have been working hard over the past few months to try and ensure we continue providing equal opportunities for boys and girls to develop to reach their potential and this is another positive step in the right direction.
I was delighted after our initial meeting with Matt Clements as his own and Norwich RDP vision around supporting the development of female players with a focus of excellent coaching at fantastic facilities is aligned to our own vision within our female youth development pathway here at Haverhill. We hope that with their help and expertise we can offer a top class coaching and educational pathway for young female players in the local area to progress their footballing careers, this is something that hasn’t previously been available, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction”.
RDP Operations Manager, Matt Clements, added: “I am extremely excited about the relationship we will be going into with Haverhill. They are an exceptional football club with their values and hard work are plain to see. We see this as a great opportunity to work with some fantastic people who share the same vision as ourselves. We will also work together to help enrich and provide opportunities within the female game from a playing perspective (early first steps) through to education pathways and coaching opportunities. This in turn will support new and upcoming coaches as well as bringing our own quality coaches to supplement the high level the club already has. Our hard work over the past few months has been focussed on wanting to improve and develop our structure for our female players for the upcoming season. We see this as a positive step towards that as well as being able to give back and support more within the local community.
For further information on how you can be involved and further information regarding the Girls Elite programmes, contact Matt Clements at matt.clements@canaries.co.uk or Jack Rayner Head of Girls Development at jack.rayner@canaries.co.uk