Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, Lioness legend Mary Earps MBE, headed to Barnet, North London, to inspire the next generation of female coaching talent during a grassroots training session.
Earps met with aspiring female coach Shahla Khaliqiar, a beneficiary of the Chase football coaching programme, to provide her with top tips on how to adapt her sessions to best support the development of goalkeepers, before the pair discussed the importance of creating more coaching opportunities for women.
As the Official Banking Partner of the Home Nations Football Associations, Chase is celebrating the first anniversary of its Chase football coaching programme which provides fully funded grassroots and professional coaching bursaries for individuals where cost is a barrier across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
By improving access to fully funded coaching qualifications, Chase is helping these individuals to unlock their potential, increasing representation in coaching to inspire future generations, and helping to build pathways towards future employment.
UK-wide research from YouGov, commissioned by Chase, revealed that role models were a powerful inspiration. More than half of those surveyed said they’d be more likely to progress their coaching journey if there were more role models from diverse backgrounds.
Alongside positively impacting the local community, existing coaches also believe that coaching can be the gateway to transferable skills leading to future employment, with 3 in 4 (75%) saying their qualification has helped them develop key life skills and 62% believing it has made them more employable.
Mary Earps, who is a Chase ambassador working with the digital bank to empower communities across the U.K., said: “It’s been so much fun to meet Shahla, hear about her coaching journey and see the positive impact she’s already having on this group of young women. It’s really important that we run programmes like this to help break down those barriers to entry and inspire more women like Shahla to get into football coaching. You never know – we could be seeing the next Sarina Wiegman, so if you’re interested, then my advice would be to apply – you won’t regret it.”
Chase football coaching programme beneficiary, Shahla Khaliqiar, said: “Today’s session has been absolutely incredible. Mary is an amazing role model for women across the country and she’s given me a totally fresh perspective on how to coach goalkeepers. On top of this incredible experience, the Chase football coaching programme has been a real game changer and given me the platform, confidence and inspiration I needed to progress my career so I’m really excited for the future.”
For more information on the Chase football coaching programme, visit: https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/chase-football-coaching-programme/
