TEENAGE girls looking for footballing kicks are being offered a rare chance to team education with the professional game.

York College have unveiled plans for a women's football academy amid hopes the course could one day provide the launch pad for a career in the paid ranks.

The girls' academy will start in September and although separate from the boys' academy, which is now in its second year at York College, it will be run along identical lines.

Under the current scheme, students aged between 16 and 19, who combine a high level of footballing ability with commitment, undertake full-time vocational qualifications as a compulsory part of their programmes.

Away from the classroom and out on the football pitch, the students are also able to develop their footballing skills with top-level coaching.

They also play weekly in an Academy League, when they take on other teams from colleges boasting similar set-ups.

"Women's football is going big - it is one of the biggest growth sports in this country if not the biggest," explained academy director and former York City favourite Gordon Staniforth.

"But we feel there is a lack of opportunities for women and girls.

"They might get a taste of women's football at school but York City Ladies and a few other local teams aside, there is very little open to them after that.

"But the academy will provide expert coaching as they study full-time to get some related qualifications."

Those qualifications could lead to a variety of careers, from coaching to sports and leisure management.

But one of the aims of the boys' academy, which currently boast 33 students, is to provide talented youngsters who may have been released from clubs or slipped through the scouting network another chance to get back into the professional game.

The York College course has strong links with York City, who have plugged into the possible production-line of potential.

City coaches take training sessions with the students, provide kit and equipment while City also allow the academy use of the club's Wigginton road training complex.

City benefit from getting first-crack at any promising youngsters whose talent may blossom within the scheme.

Although Fulham have recently set up a professional women's team, Staniforth admits the course is unlikely to offer a gateway into the paid playing ranks for women just yet.

But he believes it is only a matter of time before the academy becomes a stepping stone for girls harbouring hopes of a career as a professional footballer.

"The FA are pushing this hard with regards to a professional women's league in two to three years' time," he said.

"There is also a lot of media interest in women's football now and it is a massive growth area."

The women's academy will be open to girls aged from 16 to 19.

Trials are planned for later this year but further details can be obtained from Staniforth on 01904 770482.

Updated: 11:16 Saturday, March 24, 2001