Building the Future of Women's Football: My Internship Journey at Worcester City Women FC
Networking and hands-on experience are essential in the football industry, which is why our 14th edition candidate, Katie Van Aken, was excited about the guaranteed internship opportunity as part of The FBA program.
Her journey took her to Worcester City Women FC, a women-owned football club in the UK, where she gained firsthand experience in various aspects of club operations.
From launching a youth development program to assisting with matchday operations and community engagement, Katie’s internship provided valuable insights that will help shape her future in the industry. With aspirations to build her own women’s club in the US, this experience was a key step in her football career.
Discover more about Katie Van Aken’s journey in her interview.
Was the promise of a program that secures internships for its students a key factor in your decision? If so, why?
Since networking and experience are so important in the football industry, I was excited by the prospect of having a guaranteed internship as part of the FBA program.
In my previous experiences, internships have always provided insight for me on both what I like to do but more importantly what I don’t enjoy doing. I was hoping this internship opportunity would do the same for me in the football industry.
I had the opportunity to do my internship at the women-owned football club, Worcester City Women FC in Worcester, UK. I had the opportunity to work with the owner, the football manager, and so many other people on a variety of different projects during my time in Worcester.
Can you describe a real-world challenge you faced during your internship and how you overcame it?
One challenging aspect was launching the clubs first development program for young girls in the region of Worcester to provide an extra training program for them once a week. As any new endeavor by a club, we needed to market it and communicate to the community the benefits for the players.
We also had to deal with weather-related scheduling changes, questions from parents, and the overall football training program which took place over 6 weeks. While we didn’t recruit as many girls as we wanted for the program, the feedback from the girls who came was excellent and I’m excited that the club is going to continue offering similar programs in the future.
How has your internship experience changed your perspective on working in the football industry?
My time at WCWFC taught me that if you can find enough people who are passionate about it and want to be involved, you can build a team of volunteers that keep an organization or club running. At Worcester City Women FC, everyone involved is a volunteer and they are dedicated, effective, and hard working. I was inspired by the owner’s ability to build a team like that and I felt it was a key aspect of the club’s culture.
What is one piece of advice or lesson from The FBA that has been invaluable during your internship?
The most important lesson I took from the FBA to my internship was the importance of networking. With this concept in the back of my mind, I took every opportunity while at my internship to speak to people about their role, what they like about it, what their challenges are, etc.
I hope to keep in touch with as many people as possible and maybe our paths will cross in the future as part of the women’s football industry.
What makes your internship experience unique, and how does it align with your long-term career goals in football?
Working at a small club provided a unique internship experience because I got to experience almost every aspect of the club in my short time working there.
My role was to help out in any way that I could and to be in as many conversations as possible. In the end, I was able to contribute to the new youth development program, assist the manager at training sessions, general operations at home matches, fan engagement improvement workshops, social media creation and ideas, and meeting with local educational institutions about future partnership programs.
My goal is to build my own women’s club back in the US and experiencing so many aspects of running a club will set me up in a good place to do this. There are already some ideas I want to bring to my club that I learned from working at WCWFC.
Katie’s experience highlights the value of having a guaranteed internship as part of The FBA program. It allows Candidates to apply their knowledge in real-world settings, explore different career paths, and grow their professional network—critical steps toward a successful career in football. For Katie, this internship was not just a learning experience but a stepping stone toward her goal of building her own women’s football club in the US.
Katie is part of the 14th Edition of our Professional Master in Football Business.
Learn more about the guaranteed internship in the football business program and how it can elevate your career.
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