Last week, Surrey FA had the pleasure of hosting the first ever U25 Introduction to Volunteering Workshop; a brand-new pilot initiative, created to support young people in taking their first steps into volunteering in the game. 

The workshop was held in partnership with The FA, led by Harry Diggens, National Development Manager for Solutions and Innovation, and Estella Dawson, Surrey FA Marketing Assistant and FA National Youth Council Alumni.

The aim was to introduce young people to the number of roles available to them off the pitch, of which there are over 70 currently listed by England Football, through an interactive and engaging approach. The group had the opportunity to ask questions about what some of the different roles would look like, and even had the chance to put their skills to the test through a board game aimed at simulating some of the challenges young people may face in those roles.

National Development Manager for Volunteering, Steph Powell, said: "We were delighted to bring our Pilot ‘U25 Introduction to Volunteering’ Workshop to Surrey last week. The Surrey FA have a fantastic, progressive approach to Volunteer and Workforce support and are always at the forefront of our drive to get more Youth Leaders into the game. It was exciting for us to have a diverse room, full of enthusiastic young people looking to make their first steps into off pitch roles in grassroots football. We know that now, they will not only be supported by the County FA to have a wider impact on the game locally but will also help us to shape what this Workshop offer looks like for young people Nationwide. I’ll place my thanks on record to Helen, Estella and the Team for making it happen and to those that attended for contributing to a great event. Watch this space for further news on how this programme will support us to diversify those running the game across the country."

Surrey FA Youth Forum member, Orla, already an active participant of the local volunteering community, joined us for the session and had the following to share: "The FA U25 Introduction to Volunteering Workshop was a brilliant, informative event, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in careers or volunteering opportunities in football. The interactive nature of the workshop made it engaging and a great way to meet like-minded people!"

Co-facilitator and Surrey FA Staff Member, Estella Dawson, said: "Coming through a non-playing background in football has had its challenges, but finding the volunteering side of the game has been instrumental to my development, and having a workshop like this when I was starting out on my journey a few years ago would have been a huge help in knowing where to start."

On behalf of Surrey FA, we’d like to express our thanks to Steph, Harry and The FA for their time and having us part of the pilot phase of the U25 Clubmaker workshop. It’s an exciting time in the volunteering space and we look forward to seeing its development over this next strategy cycle. 

Want to find out more?

Listen to our latest episode of The Final Whistle – Surrey FA Podcast with Harry and Steph. Additionally, if you are a young person interested in learning more about volunteering in football, you can visit our Youth Leadership page.