Barking & Dagenham College has appointed its first FA Women’s Football Development Officer Apprentice

Barking & Dagenham College has appointed its first FA Women’s Football Development Officer Apprentice to help support more women and girls into football.  

Kayleigh Heron, 17, from Dagenham, previously studied sport at the College.  She was appointed the new role and has now begun her 22-month apprenticeship.  

Kayleigh’s key responsibilities will be to engage with and increase female participation in football at the College as well as in the wider community.  It’s hoped this will create a pathway for women to develop in football in partnership with the Association of Colleges (AOC) and the FA.  In addition, Kayleigh is also aiming to set up a women’s football academy at the College ready for next year. 

Speaking about her exciting new role, Kayleigh said:

“It is a great opportunity to develop myself and further my career in sports, passing on my passion to other females and breaking down the barriers to participate.” 

Emma Keegan, Sports Centre and Commercial Hire Manager at Barking & Dagenham College added: “Football is as much a game for women as it is for men but there just aren’t as many women in the sport.  Kayleigh is the perfect person to help us shake things up and encourage more women into the game.  She has so much enthusiasm and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve over the coming months.”