The girls' pathway is different. Later, and free.
No Category 1 to 4. No signing at nine. The first step is a free FA centre she attends alongside her own club, and the professional academies recruit from 14. Here is the whole ladder and which clubs run one.
Five steps, most of them free.
- 5 to 8Grassroots, mixed or girls only
County FA affiliated clubs. Wildcats sessions from 5. Nobody is scouting yet, and nobody should be charging for "elite" girls' programmes at this age.
- 8 to 16Emerging Talent Centre
About 70 FA-licensed centres, free since 2025, run by pro clubs, county FAs and universities. At least one 90-minute session a week for 30 weeks, plus festivals. She keeps her grassroots club. Entry is by identification and an assessment session; some centres publish application windows.
- 12 to 16Club-funded girls' programmes
WSL and WSL 2 clubs run their own age groups below the licensed academy, on their own rules. Some are free, some are not. This is where the vocabulary gets loose: ask whether it is FA licensed.
- 14 to 20Professional Game Academy
The licensed academy at every WSL and WSL 2 club, registered with the FA. U16 and U21 squads, a cap of 25 per squad, retention decisions by 1 March with a reply by 1 April. Places are free. Education runs alongside; most players are still in school or college.
- 16 to 20Scholarship, college, first contract
The women's game recruits later than the boys'. Many WSL players entered a professional environment at 16 or older from grassroots, ETC or school football. Not being picked at 11 rules nothing out.
Same badge, different rulebook.
Most of what parents read about academies describes the boys' system. These are the parts that do not carry over.
| Boys | Girls | |
|---|---|---|
| Who licenses it | Premier League (EPPP), categories 1 to 4 | The FA, PGA Category 1 or 2; WSL Football takes over from 2028 |
| First registration | U9, one-hour travel rule | ETC from 8, no registration; PGA registration from U15 |
| Cost | Free | ETC and PGA free; club-run girls' centres vary |
| Release timing | Reviews in winter and spring, U16 decisions by June | Retention offer or release confirmed by 1 March (U18s by 31 December) |
| Compensation between clubs | Fixed tariff per year registered | Recognition fee; smaller and newer |
| Typical entry age to a pro club | 9 | 12 to 16, and later is normal |
Three routes that cost nothing.
The FA's Discover My Talent window opens each season. Any coach, teacher, referee or volunteer can nominate a girl born 2007 to 2013 in the 2025/26 window. Parents cannot nominate. Ask her coach, not the club.
Some ETCs publish expression-of-interest windows: Brighton in September, Liverpool at the end of each ten-week block. Others recruit from county events and grassroots. Contact the nearest centre in the FA directory and ask about its age groups and assessment dates.
ETC staff attend county FA festivals and school fixtures. This is the girls' equivalent of the Sunday league touchline for boys' scouts. No fee, no showcase, no agent.
Who runs a girls' academy.
Every WSL and WSL 2 club must hold a Professional Game Academy licence. Not all do yet. Status as published by the FA and reported by the BBC, April 2026.
Arsenal
Arsenal Women run a Professional Game Academy at the top licence level, with U16 and U21 squads playing in the PGA Southern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Aston Villa
Villa Women's academy is Category 1, with U16 and U21 age groups in the Northern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Brighton & Hove Albion
The most open girls' route on this site: two free ETCs for ages 8 to 12 with a public expression-of-interest form in September, then annual academy application windows for GU12 to GU16 in spring.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Chelsea
Chelsea Women's academy holds a Category 1 PGA licence and its U21s lead the Southern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Everton
Everton Women's academy holds a Category 1 licence with U21s in the Northern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Leicester City
Leicester City Women hold a Category 1 PGA licence with U21s in the PGA Northern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Liverpool
Liverpool Women run a Category 1 academy and, unusually, a public-facing Emerging Talent Centre with expressions of interest and talent ID nights each block.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Manchester City
City Women's academy is Category 1 with U16 and U21 squads in the Northern Division, based alongside the boys at the Etihad Campus.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Manchester United
United Women hold a Category 1 PGA licence with age groups in the Northern Division.
WSL 2 academy, PGA Category 1Southampton
Southampton Women hold a Category 1 PGA licence from the first 2023 award and play in the PGA Southern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 1Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs Women hold a Category 1 PGA licence with U16 and U21 age groups in the Southern Division.
WSL 2 academy, PGA Category 2Charlton Athletic
Charlton Women run a Category 2 PGA, one age group under licence, with the U21s in the Southern Division.
WSL 2 academy, PGA Category 2Sunderland
Sunderland Women were awarded a Category 2 PGA licence in 2023 and play in the PGA Northern Division.
WSL academy, PGA Category 2West Ham United
West Ham were named in April 2026 as the only WSL club without a Category 1 girls' academy, with staffing changes underway.
WSL 2 academyCrystal Palace
Palace Women's U21s play in the PGA Southern Division.
WSL 2 academyNewcastle United
Newcastle United Women's U21s play in the PGA Northern Division.
WSL 2 club, conditional licenceIpswich Town
Ipswich Town Women play in WSL 2 with a U21 side in the PGA Southern Division.
WSL 2 club, no academy yetNottingham Forest
Forest Women play in WSL 2 and field a U21 side in the PGA Northern Division, but the BBC reported in April 2026 that the club was not yet operating a licensed academy.
Girls pathway restructuredReading
Reading Women were awarded a Category 2 PGA licence in 2023, then the women's side was moved down the pyramid in 2024 as the club cut costs.
Clubs without a girls' entry are boys-only academies or not yet researched. Bristol City, Birmingham City, Durham, Sheffield United, Blackburn Rovers and London City Lionesses also hold licences and are coming.
- England Football, Girls' Emerging Talent Centres ↗
- England Football, Pro Game Academies ↗
- The FA, 20 PGA licences awarded, April 2023 ↗
- England Football, Discover My Talent referral ↗
- WSL Football, PGA Rules chapter 11 (squad cap, retention dates) ↗
- BBC Sport, How WSL aims to bridge academy gap, April 2026 ↗
- WSL Football, PGA U21 league tables 2026/27 ↗
Last verified 7 September 2026.