Journey to Pro: A Deep Dive into Norwich City Women’s Evolution

Over the past decade, Norwich City Women FC have undergone a remarkable transformation, one that reflects not just the changing face of women’s football, but the club’s own relentless pursuit of professionalism. From revamped training schedules and increased intensity levels to a more ambitious club culture and vastly improved facilities, every facet of the Canaries’ setup has evolved to meet the growing demands of the modern game in the FA Women’s National League.

With a current number of nine staff members, this journey hasn’t happened overnight. It’s been the result of years of strategic development, commitment from staff and players, and a shared vision to elevate women’s football within the Norwich City structure.

To understand how far the team has come, and where they’re headed next, we spoke to key figures driving this progress behind the scenes.

Interviewed for this feature:

• Flo Allen, Head of Women’s Football at Norwich City Women FC, responsible for steering the women’s game at the club forward, shaping strategy, overseeing recruitment and coaching appointments, and strengthening the link between the football and business sides of the operation.

• Ethan Scott, Assistant Coach, a long-standing member of the setup, having been with Norwich for nearly eight years, bringing deep insight into the evolution of the team’s training environment and on-pitch philosophy.

• Alex Beadnell, Women’s football media lead, leading the club’s digital presence and helping to grow engagement, visibility, and support for the women’s side.

Training and Performance

Assistant coach Ethan Scott, who has been involved in the club since 2017, offers a unique perspective having seen first-hand just how much the training schedule has changed since he first joined. Reminiscing on those early sessions, Ethan explained how they were limited to a weekly two-hour session on a Wednesday that would simply consist of a basic warm-up, a tactical part before finishing with a game.

It is fair to say that Norwich’s training schedule this season is slightly more intense as players are expected to attend three weekly sessions with the option of attending an additional Friday session (mandatory for the contracted players). These four sessions not only afford the coaching staff more time to work with their players, but also to work on additional aspects of their game.

For example, the Monday session, straight off the back of a game on a Sunday, centres around recovery, gym work and analysis from the game. Following on from the Monday recovery session, Tuesday and Thursday consist of more heavy pitch sessions which allow the coaching staff to address some tactical and technical points. The Friday session, which takes place in the day, has a more personal feel where the smaller group of players present gives the coaching staff an opportunity to work on players' individual strengths and weaknesses.

On top of these four weekly sessions at the Avant Training Centre in Colney, players are also given nutrition prior to training which ensures that they are properly fuelled for the sessions. This nutrition is another example of how Norwich’s training is moving beyond just pitch sessions and moving into other areas such as off-pitch recovery, tactical analysis and nutrition. The introduction of the Hudl camera system has also meant immediate footage uploads and more structured performance analysis, further underlining the club’s professional approach.

All of these changes reflect the increasing competition and standard of football that we are seeing in the FA Women’s National League and in Tier 4 particularly. Speaking about the increase in level, Ethan admits that there is no longer such a thing as ‘an easy game’ in this league and that these increased sessions are necessary to reflect the increasingly competitive league and opposition.

Speaking of the increasing demands of this more intense training routine, Ethan admits that he loves the introduction of more tactical and analysis sessions as he believes that raises the level and ‘makes it more exciting’ for anyone who watched the league. Despite juggling a full-time career in marketing outside his commitments as a coach at Norwich, Ethan admits that he loves the busy schedule and that it ensures that ‘there is never a dull moment!’

From a weekly session on a Wednesday, to four weekly sessions at the state-of-the-art training ground in Colney, Norwich’s training routine offers players a level of professionalism that is not often seen at Tier 4 level. This heavier schedule, however, also means that there are increasing demands on players and staff who have to dedicate more of their time to the club. None of this would be possible without the hard work and commitment of coaches like Ethan whose love for the game and unmatched desire to win allows them to achieve this level of commitment.

One Club, One Culture

One thing that shines through conversations with everyone across the board at Norwich is the excellent ambiance and culture that shines through the club. As Head of Women’s Football Flo Allen puts it, ‘it very much is a community feel, both on and off the pitch’. With the women’s team becoming fully integrated with the men’s side in 2022, it has created a one-club mentality with staff across the board working together in order to further Norwich as a football club.

Another key aspect which adds to the positive vibe which surrounds the club is the incredible community that supports and involves themselves in the women’s club. For example, the club has a strong link to the local University of East Anglia with several players such as Millie Daviss and Lauren Hailes working and studying at the university whilst playing for the Canaries. This relationship allows the club to better support student-athletes who are balancing their studies alongside the demands of an increasingly professional football set-up. As part of this support, players are potentially eligible for a scholarship package as well as receiving more support with academic deadlines when the fixture list becomes particularly congested.

Furthermore, Norwich has also furthered their ties in the community through the incredible fanbase that the club has fostered. As Flo sees it, ‘(one of) the biggest stakeholders in football is the fans’, and the club has gradually developed their fan base over the years. When Head of Media Alex Beadnell started at the club, she states that the majority of people who were attending matches were either family or friends of players, with the club struggling to entice in consistent numbers of supporters.

The picture feels very different now, with the club managing to pull in over 3,200 fans to their recent fixture against Luton Town Ladies at Carrow Road. Not only are they managing to pull in large crowds for occasional matches, but they also have a strong supportive fanbase who turn up week in, week out. In 2024, the Norwich City Women’s Supporters Club was formed with the aim of bringing together fans of the women’s team and increasing support at both home and away fixtures. This fan group’s atmosphere and colourful green and yellow flags help to animate The Nest and get behind the players.

Much of this growing fanbase can be attributed to the club’s move to playing their home games at The Nest. Prior to this move, they played their home fixtures at Plantation Park, also home of Norwich United FC. This move to The Nest allowed players to really feel like they had a home ground which belonged to them and allowed the club to build their own atmosphere and ambiance in a facility that truly feels like it is ‘theirs’.

Contracts and Professionalism

When speaking about the future plans for Norwich and how she sees the club developing over the next few years, Flo is very clear on one thing. She believes that a club should ‘not go from 0 to 100’ and that the rate of change and growth at a club should always be organic. Even though this summer has seen some huge changes at the club with the introduction of professional contracts for eight players, this massive change has only been made possible by the introduction of several smaller changes and shifts throughout the years.

In fact, if we were to pinpoint some turning points that initiated this club transformation, everyone seems to acknowledge it was becoming affiliated with the men's side and the introduction of Flo as the Head of Women’s Football.

This idea of gradual change is something that Alex, who has been at the club for several seasons, supports. When speaking about the biggest change that she has seen at the club, she remarks that there has not necessarily been one massive change but rather, ‘lots of little changes’. For example, the move to The Nest has allowed the club to build a more secure fanbase who animate their home fixtures. The changes to the training schedule have allowed players to develop areas of their game that they would not have previously been able to do. The changes in how they produce media have allowed them to reach a wider audience with more professional tailored content. All of these little changes have created a more professional set-up at Norwich and an environment where the introduction of contracts seemed like a logical next step and not a rushed change.

Therefore, even though Flo admits that ‘this summer is the most change we’ve ever implemented’, much of the shift toward professionalism at Norwich occurred before this summer and the introduction of contracts for some players is simply a result of these moves prior. Moreover, the fact that eight out of 22 players have been offered contracts demonstrates clearly the club’s belief in organic change, instead of offering all players a professional contract, the club has taken a manageable step for the level and position that they are at.

The introduction of contracts has also been a key tool for recruitment, with five of these eight contracts being offered to external players who have joined the club this season. Prior to the introduction of these contracts, Norwich found themselves somewhat at a disadvantage when it came to recruitment because of their geographical location. Speaking about their catchment area for players, Flo joked that ‘you can’t recruit a player from the North Sea!’ However, now the existence of contracts can act as a pull factor for potential players who might not have previously considered Norwich because of the geographical distance.

As well as recruiting external players, this move towards a professional women’s club in Norwich also marks a huge step for women’s football in Norfolk. This is something that Flo, who grew up in Norwich, feels strongly about. Originally coming through the Norwich City Girls Centre of Excellence, Flo had ambitions of becoming a professional footballer but knew that she could not achieve this dream in her childhood home as the opportunities simply did not exist at the time. This lack of opportunities instead saw her move away at 16 to pursue a professional career at Bristol City.

She explained that one of the biggest challenges in her role has been learning to translate what happens on the pitch into a business context. Having come from a footballing background, Flo was used to viewing everything through a player’s or coach’s lens. Now, she’s had to adapt, to see decisions through a strategic, commercial perspective instead. “In football, things often happen fast,” she noted. “In business, you have to pause, understand the wider concept, and weigh up the trade-offs between one decision and another.”

As Norwich City Women grows in professionalism, it not only is able to recruit players from across the country but is also able to offer young girls in Norfolk an opportunity themselves to pursue a career in football, something that would not have previously seemed possible. In many ways, the club now act as role models for countless young girls playing football across Norfolk who can now see how playing professional football in Norfolk is no longer a far-fetched fantasy but a real tangible prospect. Therefore, these contracts not only improve the club’s infrastructure but also act as a source of inspiration for the local community.

Building the Brand

While much of Norwich City Women’s progress can be seen on the pitch, the transformation off it has been just as significant. A key figure in shaping the club’s image and visibility has been Alex, the team’s Head of Women’s Social Media, whose journey with the club mirrors the women’s team’s rise itself.

Alex first became involved with Norwich City Women shortly after finishing university, right as the pandemic hit. Her introduction to the club was almost accidental; her friend’s mum, who was then joint chairperson of the women’s team, told them they were hiring for a volunteer position for the women’s side. With little experience but plenty of enthusiasm, she dove straight in. “I didn’t even tweet the lineup for the first game,” she recalled with a laugh. “I just jumped straight into it and picked things up as I went along.”

Determined to improve the coverage, Alex bought herself a camera so she could take photos during matches and share them live, creating a more engaging online presence. During the week, she also began putting together matchday programmes every Wednesday, a task she took on voluntarily while balancing other commitments.

Her commitment soon paid off. About a year into volunteering, she was offered a role as a Business Media Executive, which gave her broader responsibilities across the club’s media output. Although the women’s team was no longer her sole focus, she remained resolutely connected to it. That connection came full circle around a year and a half ago when she took on the role of full-time Media Lead for the women’s side.

Today, Alex works as part of a dedicated team of three: Rob Binns, the matchday journalist; Courtney Pedlar, the team photographer and herself, who oversees all content and strategy. Together, they’ve helped elevate the visibility of Norwich City Women to unprecedented levels, particularly through milestone moments such as playing at Carrow Road. When the women’s team first took to the pitch there in 2023, it was a landmark moment not just for the club but for women’s football in Norfolk. Their first-ever game at the men’s stadium attracted over 7,000 supporters and in2024, attendances remained in the thousands illustrating people’s desire to come back.

From a media perspective, these games are both a challenge and an opportunity. “We have to market each game differently,” Alex explained. “The women’s audience is very different from the men’s, smaller in size but incredibly loyal and positive.” With over 950,000 followers on the men’s accounts compared to 12,000 on the women’s, tone and messaging are key. The women’s channels, she said, are about positivity, storytelling, and connection, celebrating players’ work-life balance, highlighting their roles in the community, and showing the human side of football.

This approach has helped cultivate an engaged and authentic fan community. Whether it’s through hype videos, early ticket releases, or school outreach initiatives, Alex and her team have learned how to use storytelling to grow attendance and enthusiasm. The players’ frequent appearances at community and academy events further strengthen that bond, helping local supporters see the women’s team as a natural and integral part of Norwich City Football Club.

Results on the Pitch

From fighting relegation in the 2016–17 (10th), 2017–18 (11th), 2018–19 (10th) and 2019–20 (11th) campaigns, the integration with the men’s side couldn’t have happened at a better time. Since then, results on the pitch have shifted immensely and there is always a desire within the squad to win every game possible. This has shone through in their consecutive second-place finishes across the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. There is no doubt that promotion will be the primary goal on the pitch this year, especially as the club look to take themselves to an unprecedented level. Furthermore, the play-off place gives an even more exciting hook for fans to stay involved as the knock-on effect from the expansion of the WSL can be seen at this level.

Such transition from basic filming methods to using Hudl for immediate footage uploads has improved performance analysis and highlights the increased expectations for success and the structured training approach that has developed over time.

Therefore, since affiliating with the men’s side in 2022, Norwich City Women have transformed into a more professional, community-focused club. With four weekly sessions alongside structured recovery, analysis, nutrition support and the introduction of professional contracts, this has raised standards on and off the pitch. Strong ties to the University of East Anglia, a dedicated supporters’ club, and record attendances at The Nest and Carrow Road reflect the team’s growing presence. Guided by leaders like Flo, Alex and Ethan, Norwich have become a model of sustainable progress, pairing ambition with authenticity as they push for promotion and inspire women’s football across Norfolk.