Warwick Women’s football score big for university sport with historic FA prize

Over the summer, the University of Warwick’s Women’s Football Club (UWWFC) made history by being awarded the FA Youth Leadership Award, a prize that had never been won by a university committee before.

The FA recognised the UWWFC for their record 140+ players across four competitive teams, “thriving” futsal programme and “meaningful” development pathway which has allowed over 20 women to take on leadership and mentoring roles.

At the ceremony, Aimee Corr and Ella Cowell, the former president and vice-president of the club, collected the award. Corr told The Boar that “the win was very unexpected.” She hopes that their success shows “that university sport can break barriers.”

Echoing Corr’s sentiment, Cowell said that the history-making win highlights “the impact that entirely student-led university club committees can have on the whole youth football leadership space.”

From securing BUCS and FA funding for the club, to launching a bespoke leadership programme, Warwick Women’s Football have put their members at the forefront

At Warwick, all sports clubs are entirely student-run and supported by the Student’s Union (SU) and Warwick Sport. Cowell gave thanks to the SU, Warwick Sport, and BUCS for their support of the UWWFC over the last year. She mentioned the “£2,500 project funding” that the club were granted and the support they had in forming the Women in Male-Dominated (WMD) Sports Committee with Warwick’s Women’s Cricket and Rugby clubs.

The FA mentioned the WMD Committee in the UWWFC’s nomination for the award, citing its efforts to widen the reach of the football club’s work and showing their drive to help all women in sport. The organisation also highlighted the club’s collaborative leadership, peer mentoring and “deliberate focus on visibility.”

From securing BUCS and FA funding for the club, to launching a bespoke leadership programme, Warwick Women’s Football have put their members at the forefront with the aims of welcoming “as many individuals as possible” and making women’s football “supportive and exciting.”

It is evident that UWWFC is a part of the rise in women’s football participation across the UK and after the Lionesses’ back-to-back Euros win Cowell “can’t wait” to see the club “continue to grow”.

As the FA said when nominating the club, UWWFC’s “legacy is one of inclusion, opportunity, and lasting change.”