It is with great regret to announce that Coventry City Ladies have not been granted a licence by the FA to run a Centre Of Excellence.
The FA has reduced the number of COE's in the country and all clubs have had to apply for one of the licenses. This is a money saving exercise on behalf of the FA that impacts the heart of girl's football.
Centre of Excellence Director Terry Harvey is devastated with the announcement and was confident we had put in a firm bid for one of the licences.
All players will be called to attend a meeting to discuss the outcome of this announcement and how it impacts on the players futures.
City Ladies Chairman Dave Singleton has issued the following statement:
Dear all, some of you will have heard of the FA's decision not to award Coventry City Ladies a license to run a Centre of Excellence for the forthcoming season in a restructure of the National Girl's Centres of Excellence.
This news came from out of the blue and was met with a huge mix of emotions, from sadness, frustration to bewilderment and angst.
In recent weeks I've stood before hundreds of people declaring that the time for Women's Football in Coventry has never been better.
I've met with journalists, parents, fans and people of Coventry since our second successive promotion toThe National Premier League.
We've talked about how great the timing was when Coventry hosted the WFA Cup and next year where Women's football will be showcased on the global stage at the 2012 Olympics, and we are playing in the best league there is, next to the newly formed Super League.
Our success has been with the support of a tight knit leadership team, without the support of a huge club as most others in our peer group do.
The intentions of the new CCFC Board are good, but we know that they have their own business to look after before they put their sky blue arms round us too.
Whilst we're bitterly disappointed, and hundreds of family members and friends of girls and staff involved are likewise disappointed, we will carry on.
I have written to the FA including Sir Trevor Brooking who watched Coventry City Ladies play the formal opening game at The Ricoh, players who came through the Centre of Excellence ranks since their childhood.
Birmingham will have three centres at newly formed West Brom, Aston Villa and Birmingham City. Girls will have to travel to Birmingham, Leicester or as far away as Derby if they want to play for an FA COE.
When I joined this club ten years ago we created a vision that Coventry City Ladies FC would be a club where 'the girls of Coventry could realise their footballing dreams', and the FA's decision will not change that but make us more determined.
We have a pre-planned meeting with parents and players tomorrow evening at The Ricoh Arena where we will outline our determined plans for Coventry City Ladies FC Academy.
We're not sure how we will fund the gap, but we will. Our vision to provide an environment where we will provide the best coaching possible with the best facilities possible and do the best we can for the girls at the same age levels will inspire many to gather together, and our winning spirit and leadership will shine through.
Our girls will become great footballers developing skills, and win medals, they will still make their parents, teachers and friends proud and for Coventry City and the City of Coventry they will have one of the proudest women's successful football clubs in the country, just without the support of the FA's Centre of Excellences.
Please support Coventry City Ladies in anyway you can, even if it's to cheer from the touchlines, or rattle a bucket on a fundraising day, but everyone needs to know we will never let the girls of Coventry and the surrounding area down, we will coach with good heart, leadership and intention, they will play with all their hearts and parents will cheer from the touchlines.
We will make sure that the short time our girls play for us they will remember it fondly and in years to come they will sit their grandchildren on their knees and tell them the stories of fun and laughter they had at Coventry City Ladies Football Club. As they have done for the last twenty years.
Coventry City Ladies FC -Sky Blue business as usual.
On behalf of the players, parents, coaches and fansDavid SingletonChairman, Coventry City Ladies Football Club