Sunderland AFC Women invite Girls Academy for training ground experience ahead of season opener

Young footballers from Foundation of Light’s Girls Academy were given an Academy of Light experience with Sunderland AFC Women as The Lasses completed their preseason preparations.

With SAFC Women set to open their Women’s Super League 2 campaign against Sheffield United on Friday, they invited players from the SAFC Girls Academy, part of Foundation of Light’s player pathway, to watch them train and take part in a question and answer session.

After watching Mel Reay’s side train, the budding young footballers took part in their own training session at Sunderland AFC’s training facility with coaching staff from the women’s team.

After watching the end of the academy session, Sunderland AFC Women stars Brianna Westrup and Natasha Fenton joined the group to answer questions about matchday preparations, their journey to professional football, and advice for younger players.

On meeting players from Foundation of Light’s pathway, Brianna said: “It’s been really good.

“When we did the Q&A, they asked things like ‘what academy did you come through,’ ‘how does it feel being in the first-team.’ You can see there’s clearly a desire for them to make a first-team.

“It’s nice for them to feel the facilities, one of them asked how often we train here, and I feel like there were a few surprised faces that we train here all the time.

“So I think it’s good for them to see what they can accomplish if they keep working hard.”

“I think it’s really important,” Natasha added on taking on the position of being a role model for younger players.

"Particularly with the growth of the women’s game, I’m sure a lot of them look up to the bigger clubs, Man United, Man City, Arsenal, or Chelsea.

“Actually, right on their doorstep they’ve got us in Sunderland and what we’re trying to achieve in WSL 2.

“We want to build those kinds of pathways, and we want to see those girls at our games, whether it’s mascots, ballgirls, or just as a fan.

“I think that’s really important and it also gives them a bit of an aspiration moving forward to hopefully get into the first-team one day.”

With an unbeaten preseason under their belts, The Lasses can now look forward to building on their seventh-place finish from 2024-25.

“We’re massively looking forward to it,” Brianna said on the season opener away to Sheffield United.

“It’s felt like a long preseason for many reasons, mainly the running, but it’s been good to get some games, iron out some of the kinks, and hopefully start the season strong.”

Take a look back at the day: