Nickname(s) The Young Lionesses Appearances 5 (first in 2004) Head coach Marieanne Spacey Association The Football Association | FIFA code ENG Best result Third (2005) Location United Kingdom Confederation UEFA (Europe) | |
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The England women's national under-23 football team, also known as England women Under-23s or England women U23(s), is a youth association football team operated under the auspices of The Football Association. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior England women's national football team. As long as they are eligible, players can play for England at any level, making it possible to play for the U23s, senior side, and again for the U23s, as Natasha Dowie, Rachel Williams and Danielle Buet have done recently. In 2005 Casey Stoney played for the team in the Nordic Cup, despite already having 30 caps at senior level. It is also possible to play for one country at youth level and another at senior level (providing the player is eligible). Helen Lander and Kylie Davies decided to play for Wales at senior level after playing for England U23s, while Sophie Perry elected to play for Ireland.
Contents
- Beginnings
- FA sanctioned team
- Competing as an U 23 team
- 2012 Four Nations Tournament roster
- Coaches
- References
England U23s do not have a permanent home. When England hosted a tournament in 2010, the event was held at University of Warwick where it was possible to attend and watch without a ticket. Because of the smaller demand compared to the senior women's national team, much smaller grounds can be used.
The team's most recent tournament was the 2012 Four Nations Tournament, in which England finished third. The team has competed in a variety of competitions, including the annual Nordic Cup, which was previously the top competition for this age group. The current head coach is Brent Hills.
Beginnings
In February 1987 the Women's Football Association (WFA) appointed Liz Deighan to run a women's national under-21 team. Deighan had been a star midfielder in the England team which reached the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football. Four years later Deighan was not re–appointed and John Bilton took over. The team folded shortly afterwards because the WFA had run out of money. Eight of England's squad at the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup had come through Deighan's U-21 team, including Pauline Cope, Karen Burke and Louise Waller.
FA sanctioned team
In summer 2004, The Football Association (FA) decided to reconstitute the U-21 team in order to give women a higher level of play to better prepare them for the full national team. Senior team manager Hope Powell held a four-day camp in Shropshire and announced: "This is a major step forward for our international teams and will bridge the gap between Under-19 and Senior levels. We have been observing players in this age bracket for the last six months and with the clubs' assistance I believe we can make this a real success." Powell installed her full-time assistant with the senior team, Brent Hills, as coach of the team, which remained an U-21 selection from 2004 through 2008.
Competing as an U-23 team
2008 saw the change of England's youth national women's team moved to the U-23 level. The move was made by the FA in response to age-level changes FIFA had made to its oldest women's youth competition, now named FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. The age limit was raised from being a U-19 tournament to a U-20 tournament. This adjustment, coupled with a newly introduced U-23 age limit to the Nordic Cup, prompted the FA to rethink and eventually change the youth development team. The team continues to serve as a stepping-stone for players to the England women's national team. Brent Hills explained that it had become more of a challenge to break into the senior team: "When I started, if you were an extremely talented 18-year-old you may have been able to get into the senior team. I'll give you an example, Fara Williams. You would have to be the next Kelly Smith now to be able to do that."
2012 Four Nations Tournament roster
The U-23 women competed in the annual Four Nations Tournament in La Manga against the U-23 teams of Sweden, United States and Norway from 26 February to 1 March 2012.