Talent identification

The increased growth and professionalism of women’s football have led to an increased investment in talent identification and development of players from a young age. Governing bodies are now investing in talent identification and development environments such as academies, which are starting for girls as young as 10 years, and which are aligned with similar academy structures that are in place in the boys’ and men’s pathway. Talent identification in women’s football has traditionally been based on viewing players in a trial game or training session environment, whereby the players aim to impress coaches. This approach is not informed by scientific evidence, but rather coaches’ subjective preconceived notion of the ideal player, which, when used in isolation, may result in repetitive misjudgements and limited consistency. However, in recent years there has been an increased amount of research exploring talent identification and development in the women’s game. In this chapter, an overview of existing research is provided, as well as case study examples of talent-identification challenges and recommendations for talent identification and development practices.