The programme, which is available for both grassroots and aspiring professional academy coaches, is an initiative designed to support more coaches from under-represented communities with financial support towards taking the next step on their coaching pathways.
The bursary does not, however, offer a guaranteed placement on a course. Bursary recipients are still required to apply for courses in the same way as non-bursary candidates.
Once the application process is opened, coaches have three months to apply before finding out whether or not they have been successful towards the end of 2016.
Wayne Allison, The FA’s BAME project manager, is the man behind the programme and believes it can play a pivotal role in increasing the diversity of England’s coaching workforce.
“This scheme is designed to provide opportunities for any coach from under-represented areas to progress and to give them confidence to say ‘yeah, okay this is where I am at now but I can actually make it into these areas. I can go on into the professional game and into academies and beyond.’
“And hopefully through this programme, we can support more BAME and more female coaches in the system who want to help grassroots players or who want to push forward and go into the professional game.
“If that happens, we can increase the talent pool of BAME and female coaches, which are communities that are under-represented in English football and that’s something we want to address.”
One coach who is already benefiting from the bursary programme is Acle United Ladies coach, Rebecca Burton.
Having applied for the 2016/17 bursary, she is now preparing to take her UEFA B Licence and believes it is something more coaches should consider taking advantage of.
“With all honesty, without this bursary I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to put myself on the UEFA B right now so personally it has helped me in a massive way.
“It just makes everything a bit more accessible and the contribution towards the UEFA B is priceless really. I imagine it is the same for everyone else here as well.
“Once you have got that little bit of assistance to get your foot on the coaching ladder you have got that inspiration to progress further and further, and for under-represented in football groups getting this assistance can make a massive difference to their coaching careers.”
More details about when the bursary applications process opens will be published soon, so please visit TheFA.com regularly for further updates.
