England star to lead female football academy at Eastwood CFC

England international Jo Potter is looking to inspire and educate at her Eastwood CFC-based female football academy.

Potter is to launch an Elite Female Football and Education Academy for girls aged 16 to 19 alongside women’s coach Tanya Oxtoby.

Together, they will give the next generation of female footballers a chance to excel both on the pitch and in the classroom.

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International, Potter, was disappointed earlier this year when Notts County Ladies folded on the eve of the 2017 WSL season.

The 32-year-old has since signed for Reading Women and believes the JP11 Academy represents an “amazing opportunity” for aspiring female footballers.

Potter said: “This has been something I have wanted to do for a long time, I have always envisaged myself setting up a girl’s academy.

“Helping girls with good training, providing a good coaching mentor and giving the girls a first class education is something that I feel strongly about.

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“Now, where women’s football is at, it’s a perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling with the JP11 girls academy with the fantastic support network and facilities at hosts Eastwood CFC.

“With the recent upset at Notts County Ladies, a very personal disappointment, I feel one positive thing and that’s teaming up with Eastwood CFC to create this amazing opportunity for young girls to flourish in their football and academic careers, within the Nottinghamshire area.

“I have looked closely at the venue and [it] has everything a young girl could want. Alongside this I have a looked at providing female coaching staff and we have the pleasure of working in conjunction with Tanya Oxtoby, from Tanya Oxtoby Football Coaching TOFC.”

And added: “I am looking forward to this new venture and I anticipate that the girls within Nottinghamshire have something to aspire to in the future. I will be present at the trials so hopefully I will see the young talented girls Nottinghamshire has.”

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The first open trials will take place at Eastwood CFC’s Play Soccer USA 3G Arena, on Chewton Street, in Eastwood on June 24 with registration at 9.30am.

Eastwood CFC chairman Jamie Bennett said: “We are absolutely delighted to make the announcement of the start of a new adventure. We have recently announced that we will be developing the Eastwood CFC ladies within our current structure, however, alongside this we are now at the forefront of providing local females with an education and footballing pathway.

“We have worked extensively with our partners and stakeholders and we cannot tell you how delighted we are to announce our female footballing and education programme in conjunction with Jo Potter and Tanya Oxtoby as head coach.

“Jo is the perfect role model for the young players to aspire to playing at the highest level of international football with England, Tanya joins us with an extensive playing and coaching career and we can’t wait to work with both.”

The JP11 Academy will open its doors for a September 2017 start. To register your interest email [email protected] or call 01773 302232.