The two day event at Olympique Lyonnais Féminin focused on developing pathways from Girls’ Academies to first team football.
Over 130 participants from 74 ECA Member clubs and football industry experts took part in the two-day ECA Youth Football Exchange event at the Groupama Stadium home of Olympique Lyonnais Féminin to focus on the development of Girls Football in Academies.
The Groupama Stadium was the ideal location for the event being home to the record 17-time Division 1 Féminine champions, who have seen the likes of academy players such as club captain Wendie Renard, France international Amel Majri and teenager Maeline Mendy all currently part of the first-team squad.
Day one kicked off with Laurie Dacquigny – Girls Academy Director at Olympique Lyonnais Féminin focusing on the talent development pathway for the next generation of talent.
Margarida Batlle y Font, Head of Women’s Football at Sporting Clube de Portugal praised the event, and noted how the ECA has started the conversation around youth development in the women’s game.
“ECA is at the heart of the discussion of the next strategic steps for managing this issue. Events like this, for sharing, discussion, and reflection, are essential for creating a culture of demand, responsibility and the definition of short, medium and long-term KPIs, to prepare clubs for the arrival of the evolving business model.”
After a break, the second session of the day saw Lola Romero the Women’s Team General Manager at Club Atlético de Madrid and ECA Board member Azra Numanović from FK Sarajevo speak at length on the operations, philosophy, structure and strategy in place within the women’s academy at their respective clubs.
The final speaking session of the day saw Alexander Straus reflected on his role as Head Coach at FC Bayern München and the development of the academy system in the Women’s game has impacted his work with the first team. Whist day one wrapped up with a visit of the Olympique Lyonnais academy.
Day two saw the group return to the Groupama Stadium with the first event analysis of the various development pathways within girl’s football. While sports psychologist Mattia Piffarentti went into the impact of mental health & psychology of female footballers at an elite level.
After a busy two days ECA Youth Football Exchange concluded with a presentation from Professor Kirsty Jayne Elliott-Sale from the Centre of Excellence for Women in Sport. The talk centered around the impact of menstruation on performance which was further emphasized with a case study from Arsenal FC.
Looking back on the event Pouya Yaghoubinia Football Development manager at ECA added.
“This event underlines the crucial role of academy systems in developing the next generation of women's football, offering a platform for ECA members to exchange ideas and build strong connections on and off the pitch. ECA Youth Football Knowledge Exchange is essential to equip clubs with the best tools to nurture future talent and responsible citizens in a supportive, healthy environment that is conducive to the overall growth of the women’s game.”