BE. Football Mentoring: ‘Shaping the Future’

The programme aims to aid the career progression of young women in football by pairing them with a mentor and providing workshops and shadowing opportunities to increase their confidence and enhance their skills.

Now in its third year, the midpoint event provided opportunities for mentors and mentees from the current cohort to meet with mentees from the previous years to network, share experiences and celebrate achievements whilst continuing to push and develop all mentees.

The day kicked off with a speed dating task to encourage guests to identify and share their super strengths. After the icebreaker, the mentors took part in a reflection session with Claire Ewing from Pause. Play. Perform. to review their journey so far and how both them and their mentee can get the most out of the remaining time on the programme.

Meanwhile, the mentees took part in Bernie Davies’s “Your You Print” workshop. Bernie coached the group on how to understand better who they are and how to present themselves both in person and online. Mentees were encouraged to share the key influencers in their lives and reflect on their losses and how this is an integral part of everyone’s journey.

After lunch, the mentees and mentors came together for a “Show Yourself” elevator pitch workshop. In small groups, the mentees were tasked to put together a 60-second elevator pitch to showcase their work, passions, aspirations and goals. Following this, the mentees practiced giving and receiving constructive feedback.

The day concluded with a guest panel Q&A, mentee Roopa Vyas chaired the discussion with trailblazers Laura McAllister, UEFA Vice President and executive committee member and Sioned Dafydd, lead football reporter for Sgorio. The session allowed the pair to reflect on their own experiences as women in the football industry and offer advice to the mentees embarking on their careers.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, don’t be afraid to fail, you will learn more from your mistakes and failures than you will from your successes” Sioned Dafydd said, as she reflected on her career struggles.

“Careers are a marathon, not a sprint, take your time with networking and how you engage with people.” said Laura McAllister when discussing the importance of networking and making meaningful connections in your career.

Year three mentee Roopa Vyas said: “The programme has been great so far, my favourite thing has been learning about myself, my skills and strengths, it has given me the confidence to be able to talk about myself.”

If you are interested in the BE. Football mentoring programme find out more here.

Applications for year 4 of the programme will open in early 2025.