Stoke City reveals new plans for women and girls’ teams
New Elite Girls’ Academy programme created
Club to provide increased opportunities to local talent

Stoke City has announced long-term plans to put local talent at the heart of its strategy for women and girls’ football.

A new Elite Girls’ Academy programme will generate a smooth pathway from grassroots into the women’s game, with the stated mission of significantly increasing the number of Potteries locals representing the senior team.

The plans will link mass participation into selection for junior teams, which will in-turn feed the development squad and ultimately an uplift in women from Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas playing first team football for the Club.

The new programme comes as annual investment in women and girls’ football at Stoke City surpassed £1m for the first time in 24/25, funded by the Club’s owner, John Coates.

Coates said: “It is our absolute commitment that our women’s team will feature a progressively increasing core of local Stoke-on-Trent talent.

“That is what will inspire more girls to get involved in playing and loving the game, which is something we all want to see.

“Our women’s team and development squad have done Stoke City proud this season with their performances on the field and in the way they have represented the Club throughout.

“This gives me great confidence that, as our transition gets underway, local young players that are ready to step into the first team squad will enter a high-performing and vastly experienced environment in which they can thrive.”

The new direction means that, from the 25/26 season onwards, Stoke City will be represented by the following:

A semi-professional women’s first team
A paid women’s development squad
Fully funded Academy girls’ squads at U10s, U12s, U14s and U16s

The Club will also continue to support the FA’s Emerging Talent Centre programme.

The elite pathway will be underpinned by a commitment to significantly increase mass football participation via the work of the Club’s Community Trust, further cementing the impact of Stoke City as a force for good in the local area.

A £250k investment was also made in facilities at the new women’s team’s home venue at Wellbeing Park in Yarnfield at the beginning of the current campaign.

Potters put homegrown talent at heart of future women’s team plans