Recently, The FA National Youth Council have had the pleasure of delivering workshops at the BUCS Activator events based in Manchester, Birmingham, and Southampton on the topic of Youth Leadership.

I’m Alice and I’m on the FA National Youth Council this season as the FA Leadership Academy Lead within the Leadership & Development Team. I had the opportunity to co-deliver this workshop, alongside my fellow member Steph, at the Birmingham event based at Villa Park in Birmingham. This was a big honour for me as I am a massive Aston Villa fan, and currently work within the foundation as a Football in the Community Coach – so to be able to present while the windows behind me overlooked the pitch was a bit of a pinch me moment!

The event consisted of workshops and activities for students in University Football Committees to give them the tools and confidence to go back to their university and make a positive impact. As well as our Youth Leadership session, there were action planning sessions, opportunities to network and learn from other universities, and an amazing workshop to learn more about equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) from Kick it Out. The students came away inspired and prepared to use everything they have learnt within their university settings.

Our workshop was based around learning about youth leadership, providing resources to develop themselves as leaders, and opportunities to get involved in the youth leadership space. There were insightful conversations surrounding the qualities of a leader, difference between youth leadership and leadership, and opportunities for young people to lead. We also delved into the Compass Workbooks and worked through a page of the Providing Leadership Workbook, looking at their personal brand. We’re excited to see the incredible impact these leaders will have this season and beyond utilising the resources and network around and for them.

Being able to combine my passion for youth leadership and love for Aston Villa through this opportunity has been incredible. It was amazing to prepare and deliver the workshop with Steph, she brought a wealth of university knowledge and experience that the students could relate to and was a pleasure to work with! A big thank you to the team at BUCS for welcoming the FA National Youth Council to these events and all the leaders for their engagement at all the events around the country.

I never had the opportunity to attend one of these events while at University as a student - but wish I did, so any university students keep an eye out in the future for these events from BUCS and make the most of them!