Young coach’s UEFA license dreams funded by Betfair

Operator supports equality in football

Betfair
Betfair

Oxfordshire football coach Ellen Hopkins will get to realise her dreams thanks to betting operator Betfair. They have handed her a huge opportunity to go and get her UEFA B coaching license. She was one of 50 nominations Betfair’s Fairer Game campaign which was designed to promote equality within the sport.

The 24-year-old is one of the lucky few to have received help through the campaign and she put in an appearance at a launch event, which included a talk and training session from England forward Rachel Yankey.

Hopkins was a goalkeeper for Oxford United Women but she was forced out of the game at just nineteen after having picked up a hand injury during training. Instead of walking away with the game, she turned her attention to coaching earning her Level One and Two badges and has worked with the U19 men’s and women’s sides at Oxford, while also having coached out in the USA.

Of the award, Hopkins said: “I have wanted to complete my UEFA B for a number of years and I’m really excited that Betfair are helping me take that next step on my coaching journey.

“It will be an experience of a lifetime being mentored by Rachel and I am sure we will learn a lot from her and benefit from her experience.

“I never thought that my hobby could ever become a career option and this could be the boost I need towards achieving my goal.”

“During my time in the USA, I enjoyed working with the parent coaches to share ideas and give them the basic knowledge and tools to use within their own teams.

“Coaching is all about learning, so the more we work together the better chance we have at raising the standards at grassroots level.

“It would be great to see a more female-dominated presence in terms of coaching staff at the highest level.

“It’s great to see how much it has grown from when I first got involved at the age of nine and I would love to be part of that journey.”

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