Kathy’s Good to Go!

Women in Football Leadership

Hillsborough Girls’ dynamic coach, Kathy Johnston, has secured a place on the prestigious FEMALE FOOTBALL LEADERS PROGRAMME 5

Introduced by the IFA as a pilot in 2013 and launched by UEFA across 54 associations in 2014, it’s a specific leadership scheme for women involved in UEFA member associations.

Kathy is one of only 8 chosen to take part so it is truly a massive achievement.

It promises to be an exciting and rewarding experience. Kathy will be required to work on an individual project with the potential to transform the state of girls’ and women’s football.

She will have the opportunity to be paired with an experienced mentor to advise on her leadership skills development.

There is certainly no doubt that it constitutes a major commitment on Kathy’s part. She will be attend the IFA a full day every month from now until graduation in December, 2017 (not to mention all the hard work in between) – but no better woman to do it!

We agree with UEFA when they say…

“Football has come a long way over the last few years, but there is still an evident lack of women in top-level positions. More needs to be done to change perspectives and increase opportunities.

The UEFA women’s leadership programme has adopted an innovative approach by locating and developing potential female executives from the 54 member associations and helping them climb up the ladder of promotion.”

The programme aims to identify individuals who have the potential to become leaders, and help them develop the skills which will bring them closer to becoming a leader. In addition, women already in leadership positions will be offered extra support in their roles.

We wish Kathy all the best as she embarks on this new and exciting journey and we know everyone at our Club is right behind her all the way. Anyone who knows Kathy knows she’s a really great person with all the qualities in abundance needed to truly excel in a leadership programme such as this.

Congratulations Kathy, from everyone at Hillsborough Football Club!

#TogetherWeStand

Read about the most recent graduates at the IFA’s site here.