At Aston Villa Women’s F.C, we pride ourselves on being able to offer an inclusive, fully-integrated pathway to potential young athletes, and are passionate about creating a welcoming environment in which individuals are able to realise and reach their full potential - both as people and footballers. We continue to strive to identify and recruit young players with outstanding potential, who through our youth talent pathway are supported - using the Aston Villa philosophy and principles - in becoming well-rounded, well-educated young people who can pursue a career in or away from the game.
Our Mission
Helping people achieve their dreams.
Our Vision
To be the leading youth talent pathway in the country who offer a holistic and varied programme with a clear pathway into our first team, offering authentic opportunities for individuals to reach and exceed their individual potential.
Developing good people who are well-educated and can pursue a career in or away from the game.
Our Talent Pathway
At Aston Villa F.C, our primary objective is to maximise our players’ potential as they grow and develop. This is achieved through the use of a holistic and detailed training programme, a varied games programme, and by supporting players’ education throughout our pathway, which is made up of three main phases.
Foundation Phase - (ages 8 - 11): ‘Learning to love the game’
Our Foundation Phase is an energetic environment, with a love and mastery of the ball at the heart of it. The positive environment promotes a holistic approach to player development, which is centred around supporting players to:
Master their bodies
Master the ball
Explore new things and experiment with new ideas
Enhance players’ key values as young people.
‘Want the ball. Enjoy the ball. Love the ball.’
Youth Development Phase - (ages 12 - 16):‘Learning to compete’
Our Youth Development Phase is a progressive environment, centred around bravery and a love of the ball. The nurturing environment continues to promote a holistic approach to player development, and is the next building block after the initial Foundation Phase. The key aims of this phase are to:
Understand technical and tactical principles (in-possession, out-of-possession and transition principles)
Support athletic physical development
Provide additional support (medical, psychology, lifestyle, nutrition, analysis, education and careers)
Continue to grow our day release offer for players within our U14s & U16s who show high potential
Girls Academy (ages 16 - 21):‘Continuing to compete and learning to win’
Our Girls Academy is a competitive environment in which players continue to develop. The ambitious environment continues to promote a holistic approach to player development, and is the final building block after the Youth Development Phase, with the primary objective of preparing players for first team football. The key aims of this phase are to:
Understand technical and tactical principles (in-possession, out-of-possession and transition principles) and put them into practice
Maximise athletic physical development
Introduce game models (understanding different systems)
Provide additional support (medical, psychology, lifestyle, nutrition, analysis, education and careers)
Deliver a full-time elite training programme (10 -15hrs)
Provide a dual-careers programme
‘Inspire, Prepare, Excel’
The approach for all phases in the Aston Villa F.C talent pathway is guided by a spiral syllabus which revisits learning continuously, allowing players to be positively ‘stretched’ to reach and exceed their potential.
If you are interested then please fill out the corresponding form for your age group below:
Goalkeeper Form
If you wish to express an interest and you are a goalkeeper aged between 7 – 15 please fill in this form (if you are a goalkeeper aged 16+ please go to our U21s page
Foundation Phase Form
If you wish to express an interest and you are a female aged between 7 – 11 please fill in this form
Youth Development Phase Form
If you wish to express an interest and you are a female aged between 12 – 15 please fill in this form
U21s Form
Fill in this form if you wish to express an interest for our U21s and you are between 16 – 21 as of September 1st 2024
