Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation teamed up with the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) over the autumn half term to lead a See It. Achieve It. event for young people from across Sussex.
The See It. Achieve It. programme, launched by the PFA in 2022 and spearheaded by former Lioness and Brighton player Fern Whelan, aims to elevate the voices of diverse players from the women’s game, and inspire the next generation of female football talent.
Hosted at Albion’s American Express Elite Performance Centre in Lancing, coaches from the club and the PFA delivered guided training sessions with 35 young people from the local area.
The sessions were followed by a Q&A sit-down with WSL players Madison Haley and Aisha Masaka – and academy prospect Mia Balmer – who discussed their journeys through football and experiences as professional players.
Albion Women player Madison Haley said:
“I think it’s important to have people who look like you in sport that you can model yourself on. Brighton has an incredibly diverse team – you can walk down the hall and hear so many different languages being spoken.
“A wonderful gift that sport and football give you is being able to meet people from all over the world, and you learn so much from people that are different from you.”
PFA Player Services Executive and former Albion Women captain, Victoria Williams, said:
“Football is about enjoyment, and it doesn’t matter what level you end up playing at. It’s important that girls have role models they can look up to.
“Players never take the opportunity to inspire for granted, and I’m sure the girls who joined the event will be encouraged to pick up football or another sport as a hobby or feel empowered to follow any ambitions to play sport as a career. That’s exactly what this programme is all about.”
Albion’s Foundation joins WSL clubs Manchester City and Aston Villa Women in backing the scheme which also offers young academy players mentoring from established players across the women’s professional game.
