It is 14 years since Kay Cossington received the phone call, but she can still remember it now. The person on the other end was from Blackburn Rovers and she was adamant Cossington had to come see this young girl in action. Cossington, who is the FA’s Women’s Technical Director, was a one-woman band at the time and drove all over the country looking for the next generation of Lionesses.
After some persuading, she finally made the trip up from her home in Kent to see Blackburn’s Under-14s play at a local tournament in Preston. “I turn up and there were kids everywhere,” Cossington tells Standard Sport.
“I had no idea where I was going, so I phoned the lady — no answer. I eventually found the Under-14s and I was like, ah, I am guessing this is the player you wanted me to see. She got the ball, walked round everyone, scored a goal and came back. One of her team-mates would win the ball and give it to her straight away. It was almost like she was a magnet.
“Who was that player? It was Keira Walsh.”
Unearthing the gems
Cossington is full of stories like that as she recalls how the FA unearthed and developed a group of players who won the Euros in 2022 and reached the World Cup final a year later. There is a saying at the FA that “champions are born when no one is looking” but, when it comes to the Lionesses, it is hard to find a time Cossington wasn’t there.
“I watched Lauren James when she was in the Under-10s at Chelsea,” she says. “I was heading down the driveway to an Under-15 session and I thought, who on earth is that player in the Under-10s? She was absolutely phenomenal.”
That was a different time and worlds away from the set-up Cossington now heads up at the FA. When she began working full-time at the organisation 15 years ago, she was one of only four members of staff in the women’s game.
“Here we are 15 years later with a twin-track talent pathway, which has millions of pounds that wrap around it and an infrastructure of around 35 members of full-time staff,” says Cossington. “It’s incredible to think where we have come from.”
Memories of the Lionesses’ victory over Germany in the final of Euro 2022 will come flooding back tomorrow when the sides meet again at Wembley — and it is the same when you visit St George’s Park. On the walls outside the National Football Centre, the iconic image of Chloe Kelly celebrating the winning goal by whipping off her shirt and spinning it in the air is displayed for all to see.
The challenge for the next generation is to carry on the trail those before them have blazed. The wider public did not know of Kelly until she wrote her name into the history books and the same goes for the rest of the squad. They have become household names, with goalkeeper Mary Earps crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but all of it started the moment they became European champions.
Changing of the guard?
There is confidence the talent coming through can achieve the same feats, starting with next summer’s Euros — when England will be defending champions. The side that won the Euros two years ago is evolving and from the XI that started the final, Ellen White and Rachel Daly have retired, while four others are over 30.
Earps is one of those whose place is under threat due to the form of Hannah Hampton. The 23-year-old has had to wait patiently for her chance, earning just eight caps so far, but she kept six clean sheets in 10 matches last season after becoming Chelsea’s No 1. “I genuinely believe Hannah has all the ability to become the best in the world,” said Emma Hayes, who brought Hampton to Chelsea last summer. “I say this as the future USA coach: England are so lucky.”
Hayes was equally glowing about another Chelsea youngster, Aggie Beever-Jones, who is also knocking on the door. “Don’t forget that name,” said Hayes, in one of her final press conferences before joining the USA. “She’s going to be a legend, not just for Chelsea, but for England.”
Beever-Jones was rewarded with her England debut last summer after a brilliant season for Chelsea, where she finished as their second top scorer with 13 goals from 10 starts. The 21-year-old can play anywhere across the forward line and is one of several young players giving coach Sarina Wiegman selection headaches in attack.
There is confidence that the Lionesses talent coming through can achieve the same feats
Fran Kirby played every game as England’s No 10 when they won Euro 2022, but Jess Park and Grace Clinton have both emerged since then. Park, who turned 23 this week, is one of the most technically gifted players to have come through England’s youth ranks, while Clinton has blossomed into a potent goalscoring midfielder after spending last season on loan at Tottenham. Now back at Manchester United, the 21-year-old is the joint top scorer in the Women’s Super League this season.
There is particular excitement about the Under-17s. The depth of talent is such that this month England have two squads competing at the same time — one at the Under-17 World Cup and another playing Euros qualifiers.
The young Lionesses reached the final of that competition this year, a first for England at that level, but they were beaten 4-0 by Spain — who now hold all four youth world and European women’s titles. Spain, who beat the Lionesses in the World Cup final last year, have led the way on youth development — but the FA are working to close the gap.
Eleven years ago, Cossington “became obsessed” with how top teams France, Germany, Japan, Holland, Spain and the USA developed talent. Key findings were how girls played against boys at a young age and the Spanish focused on high levels of competition through each age group and advocated smaller games of five- or seven-a-side.
Two routes to the top
London is at the centre of efforts to unearth the next generation. The FA created 60 Emerging Talent Centres (ETC) two years ago and now there are 73, with nine of them in London. Centres have been strategically placed to minimise the cost of travel for players, with it now averaging £8 per week instead of £50.
The old regional centres were in leafy suburbs, but Tottenham’s ETC is right by their stadium in north London. Crystal Palace’s is a mile outside Beckenham. This has led to a 127 per cent increase in the number of ethnically diverse players who are accessing an ETC, while there has also been a 112 per cent increase in players from low-income backgrounds.
The launch of the Discover My Talent programme is also proving fruitful. It’s an initiative that invites players to put themselves forward by filling in a form on the FA website and uploading video footage. Around 4,000 youngsters a year are using this route and 21 per cent of players in England’s talent pool at Under-15 to Under-17 level have got there through self-promotion.
Wiegman’s 2027 ambition
The biggest challenge of all, however, is making that step from youth football to the professional game, especially in the WSL. The growth of the league and the money flowing into it has been both a help and hindrance for the next generation.
Household names such as Sam Kerr and Vivianne Miedema have raised standards, but the bar for getting game time is high. During the 2017-18 season, 60 per cent of WSL players were eligible for England, but now it is just over 30 per cent. The FA are stressing the importance of the loan market to clubs, but more extreme measures such as a quota system seem unlikely. “You can have a quota of English players in squads, but in the end if they are not getting any playing minutes it becomes kind of irrelevant,” says Cossington.
It is why the rebirth of England’s Under-23 side three years ago has been vital, as it prepares players for the jump to the Lionesses. In the past year, three players have made their senior debuts and Wiegman meets weekly with U23 boss, Emma Coates. Wiegman is excited by the talent coming through and it was one of the reasons she signed a new contract through to the 2027 World Cup at the start of this year. “There’s so much potential,” she said. “We have experienced players, but young players coming in. I just feel with this team we can grow so much more.”
Tickets to watch the Lionesses take on Germany at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening are still available right up to matchday from wembleystadium.com/tickets
