Earlier this week, the Albion Foundation welcomed 30 pupils from Holly Lodge High School to the Hawthorns for Albion Aspirations - an event aimed at young females who are interested in working within the sports industry.
The day was linked to International Women's Day 2024, with this year's theme 'Inspire Inclusion' - celebrating women's achievement, raising awareness about discrimination and taking action to drive gender parity.
The group included a mixture of Year-9 students and sixth form pupils, with the Foundation's Premier League Inspires mentors delivering the event and various tasks throughout the day.
Ella Montgomery, Youth Wellbeing Mentor at The Albion Foundation, said: "In partnership with the Premier League Inspires programme, we delivered a day all about careers for women in sport, specifically women in football, trying to open some doors and hopefully open their eyes to all the opportunities there are."
Pupils were treated to a behind-the-scenes stadium tour of the Hawthorns, visiting different club employees and areas of work along the way - including the ticket office, reception, kitchens, physiotherapy room, hospitality boxes and the kit department.
Lucy Peirce, Premier League Charitable Fund Education Programmes Executive, and club employees Lucy Whitehouse and Tia Silvera joined the group for a panel discussion, to provide an insight into their careers, the pathway they've been on as females working within football and show the variety of employment opportunities available.
The experienced panel and Foundation staff were then on hand to support the pupils with an independent skills reflection task, helping students to assess their strengths, interests and areas of growth.
One Holly Lodge pupil commented: "Today's prepared me by giving me more of an insight that there's loads of opportunities sport can offer, more than the ones I was aware of coming here today.
"It's given me a wider aspect of what I want to do with my future and how I want to help a change in the future through sport and show young females that you can go into sport.
"You don't need to be male, you don't just need to play football, you can go into sport in many different directions and still have the same impact as the players and coaches do."
Premier League Charitable Fund Chief Executive, Ruth Shaw OBE, said: "Last year, Premier League programmes supported opportunities for more than 80,000 girls and young women, as we know how important it is to provide positive pathways and promote equality, both on and off the pitch.
"This event is a fantastic example of how professional football club charities support girls and young women to hear from role models within the football industry, helping them to develop personal skills and positive attitudes that are crucial for leadership and future careers."
Premier League Inspires uses the appeal of football to help children and young people aged 11-18 to develop the personal skills and positive attitude to succeed in life.
Launched in 2019, today the programme is delivered by 45 professional football club community organisations, and is supported by the Professional Footballers' Association and the Premier League.
More than £11.1m has been invested into the programme by the Premier League, via the Premier League Charitable Fund, to date.
If you're interested in a career in sport, then The Albion Foundation could be an option for you. Click here to view our Careers and Education portal to find out more information about the opportunities available.
