England assistant Marieanne Spacey says there are more opportunities for women in football
Former Arsenal Ladies midfielder Marieanne Spacey insists there has never been a better time for women to get into football coaching.
Spacey is currently assistant head coach to Mark Sampson with the England Women’s team and also manages England’s U23 side.
And the 48-year-old, who won 91 international caps for England, believes that women need not have played the game in order to become successful football coaches.
"There are a lot more opportunities out there now in terms of getting women involved in coaching," Spacey told Sky Sports. "There are more opportunities for female coaches than there ever have been.
"You don’t have to have played the game if you’ve got a good background in teaching and you understand the needs of individuals and have an aptitude for learning and a commitment to learn.
"You can start at a grassroots club as a volunteer and start to build your way through the qualifications and become the best coach you can be in a grassroots environment, to then move into the women’s game in terms of elite performance."
Former England manager Hope Powell, supported by her assistant Brent Hills, had spearheaded an initiative with the FA designed to help more females earn the UEFA 'A' Licence.
"We’ve got a mentoring scheme for females working from B Licence to A licence and it’s for us to support females in that process to get to the level required to work in the Women’s Super League," Spacey said.
"The mentoring scheme that Brent Hills and Hope Powell set up 10 years ago has been quite successful.
"You only need to look at the likes of Laura Harvey who is working in America at the moment, myself, and Julie Callaghan - all female coaches or coach educators working or who have worked previously in the WSL or The FA.”
“Now we need to just look at it and see where we take it from here. It’s evolving and we will continue to evolve to ensure more females get access to that scheme and get access to the kind of coaching opportunities that they deserve.”
Arsenal Ladies and England defender Casey Stoney said: "There are more equal opportunities, more girls’ teams popping up everywhere and more opportunities for girls - not just to play - but to coach and get involved in the game.
“So I think it’s really moving in the right direction.”