Hope Powell: The highlights of her journey

LEADING THE WAY

While leadership creeps up on some people, for Powell it was a journey she embarked on at an early age. During her 20-year playing career, she passed The FA’s preliminary coaching award, obtained her UEFA B Licence and completed The FA’s female coach mentoring scheme. She was proactive, too, in taking on the role of development officer for Lewisham Borough Council and Crystal Palace FC’s community outreach scheme, and in acting as a volunteer coach at soccer camps in the US.

"I was also captain of my team and vice-captain of the England side, so I was in leadership roles early on,” she says. Asked whether she has changed her style since then, she says it’s more a question of maturing and growing. 

"You refine your skills, change and adapt, shaping what you do next based on your previous experiences. What’s more, it’s a continuous journey, and every day is about working to ensure that next time you face something similar, you’ll do better. You’re asking constantly what it is you need to do to be better next year, what you need to focus on. So leadership for me is a continuous journey of learning.”

While Powell strives to develop and grow, there are some ways in which she is adamant that she will never change, certain non-negotiables. ‘’Principally, I will never compromise myself and my beliefs,” she says. ‘’This is who I am and these are my expectations, and I will never sell myself short just to please someone or curry favour. I’ll never compromise who I am as a human being.’’

GROUNDWORK

Powell is currently applying her uncompromising high standards as women’s technical director at Birmingham City, where she is responsible for managing and building the women’s side of the club. 

‘’We’re aiming high. That includes getting to the WSL and staying there, and reaching the Women’s Champions League,” she says.

Powell’s experience with England and her five years building the women’s game at Brighton and Hove Albion made her the ideal candidate to help take Birmingham City forward.

Before she could start making changes, however, her priority on joining in July 2023 was to really understand the status quo. ‘’That’s always the starting point,” she says, ‘’to observe, see what’s going on and what’s in place. It’s important to get to know the staff and understand them as people, their drivers and ambitions. Since I arrived, I’ve really got to know the climate I’m working in, the culture and the fundamentals of the organisation. From there, you can start to unpick things: for example, where staff might need to be upskilled or supported, trying to get some historical data so we can evidence proof, and then starting to put in place processes to improve how effective and efficient we are.”

Realising the club’s ambitious vision for the future is a big job that will take time to realise, but it’s one that Powell is relishing. That vision includes developing the player pathway, in part by extending its academy programme for girls, and engaging even more actively with the diverse local community.

"There’s such a strong community feel in Birmingham and we want to be really visible and to reach out to it. We want as many people as possible to fall in love with the game and be part of the football club,” she says, "because you get so much from being part of something.” That includes the players, who Powell says are keen to get out there into the community, to promote themselves, the club and women’s football. 

"It’s genuinely important to them,” she says. ‘’In fact, it’s a real feel-good factor for all of us.”

FRONT AND CENTRE

As a mark of the level of respect that Powell has garnered in the women’s game, she was invited to be part of a government-commissioned independent review of women’s football last year. Chaired by former Lionesses midfielder Karen Carney OBE, the review examined issues affecting the women’s game at elite and grassroots levels in England, with a series of strategic recommendations released in July 2023.

While they are just that – recommendations – Powell is encouraged to see that certain points appear to be being taken seriously, among them a call for greater diversity in the game and recognition of the need to raise standards of practice for women in football. "Perhaps the most important outcome of reviews such as this, though, is that they get people talking,” says Powell.

"Often, it’s that conversation and debate that leads to positive action. Adding to the incredible achievements we’ve seen in recent years by the Lionesses, last year’s review has helped to, once again, put women’s football at the forefront of people’s minds.”

Powell believes that to raise women’s football to the next level and achieve greater parity with the men’s game we need continued investment and to maintain the momentum of recent decades. ‘’That means keeping the women’s game front and centre of everything and, of course, continuing to be successful on and off the pitch.”

MODEL BEHAVIOUR

For young girls entering the player pathway, and current players looking ahead to their future careers, strong role models will also be key. As Powell points out, there are now some really strong female leaders in women’s football, including Nikki Doucet, CEO of Women’s Professional Leagues, tasked with the women’s game into a new era. She hopes, however, to see a new generation of female leaders coming through. ‘’Those opportunities need to be made available and they need to be real,” she says, "because it’s important to have those female role models, at all levels of the game, and continue to break down the barriers.”

Powell, herself a pioneer in the industry, continues to add value and help her peers wherever she can, both in her current role and in the game more widely. Since becoming the first woman to be awarded the UEFA Pro Licence, she has always endeavoured to upskill herself and is currently completing The FA Technical Directors course, which she says has opened up a whole new sense of learning.

"I’m always happy to expose myself to things I don’t understand, things I want to explore,” she says. ‘’The game’s always developing and I need to make sure I move with it. It’s important also to be visible and to encourage and support the next generation of aspiring England managers or technical directors wherever I can. That can mean you spread yourself a bit thin, but I was fortunate to have a great mentor and lots of people who helped me throughout my career, so if I can pass on some words of wisdom then I’m more than happy to do that. Until I retire from this game, I’m still on a journey, and it will never be time to put my feet up. There’s still so much work to be done.”