Arsenal W.F.C. Academy

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Wikipedia

Arsenal W.F.C. Academy
Full nameArsenal Women Football Club Academy
Nickname(s)Hale End
GroundVauxhall Road
Capacity3,152 (300 seated)
Academy ManagerJames Honeyman

Arsenal Women Football Club Academy (Arsenal W.F.C. Academy) is the youth academy of Arsenal Women Football Club. The academy operates for girls from 9 to 21 years old.[1][2]

History

Arsenal Women's Academy started as a community programme in the late 1980's, when the club decided to develop a youth training scheme for 16- to 18-year-old girls who were interested in playing football. This scheme meant girls could play football full-time for two years, fully funded by a government training scheme.[3]

Arsenal's Head of Community, Freddie Hudson MBE, is still involved with the Academy setup and has helped to develop the pathway for girls in the North London communities into the current setup as it currently stands.

The academy has won three FA Girls Youth Cups in addition to other trophies lifted altogether.[2][4][5]

Ahead of the 2023-24 season, Arsenal were one of 16 football clubs awarded a Category 1 Professional Game Academy License (PGAs). The PGAs replaced what were then known as FA WSL Academies.[6]

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, it was announced that PGA sides would be competing in the Women's National League Cup for the first time, after the addition of those sides in the Women's National League Plate competition during the 2024-25 season. Along with this, there was the introduction of a group stage for the Cup:[7] Arsenal were drawn in group K alongside Loughborough Lightning, Northampton Town and Rugby Borough.[8]

Players

Under-21s

As of 8 July 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
42 DF England ENG Lucy Lyon
43 DF England ENG Niamh Peacock
44 DF England ENG Sophie Harwood
47 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Sophia Leonard
49 DF Wales WAL Teagan Scarlett
51 MF England ENG Marcie O'Meara
52 MF England ENG Gaby Dimmock
53 GK England ENG Amy Liddiard
54 DF England ENG Eva Gray
No. Pos. Nation Player
63 GK England ENG Hope McSheffrey
64 MF Australia AUS Milly Boughton
68 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Lauren Bowe
— DF England ENG Helen "Nelly" Duncan
— DF England ENG Isabella Cowley
— MF England ENG Bryony Brodie
— MF England ENG Maya Hindson
— FW England ENG Kyri Teer-Hutchins
— FW England ENG Leyla O'Brien

Notable players

This is a list of former Arsenal W.F.C. Academy players who have gone on to represent their country at full international level. Players who are still at Arsenal, or play at another club on loan from Arsenal, are highlighted in bold.

Updated 24 July 2025

Honours

References

  1. ↑ "Arsenal Ladies Development Team". Arsenal.com.
  2. 1 2 "FA Regional Talent Club". Arsenal.com.
  3. ↑ Wrack, Suzanne (16 June 2025). "'We took a big leap of faith': how a community project built Arsenal Women". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Academy sides win three trophies". Arsenal.com.
  5. 1 2 "Ladies win National Youth Cup - Pictures". Arsenal.com.
  6. ↑ The Football Association, FA. "FA Professional Game Academy licenses awarded to twenty clubs as part of revamped player pathway". England Football. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "FA Women's National League announces key dates and changes to promotion for 2025/26 season". womenscompetitions.thefa.com. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  8. ↑ FA, The Football Association (15 July 2025). "Fixtures".
  9. ↑ "Salzburg and Arsenal Triumph | Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup 2024". FIFA. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  10. ↑ Arsenal Media (18 April 2024). "Arsenal Women's U21s win the PGA Southern League". Arsenal Women’s U21s win the PGA Southern League. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Arsenal Women U21s secure league title". Arsenal.com. 23 April 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
  12. ↑ Ward, Kian (15 May 2025). "IN PHOTOS | Dulwich Hamlet vs Arsenal | Capital Women's Cup". Dulwich Hamlet Football Club. Retrieved 22 May 2025.