FIVE Birmingham City Ladies players have been named in Marieanne Spacey’s 16-player Next Gen squad for a training camp at St. George’s Park.
Sophie Baggaley, Sophie Baggaley, Aoife Mannion, Mel Lawley and Freda Ayisi have all been selected for the four-day camp at the home of Football Association.
The Next Gen group has replaced the previous Under-23 set-up, though the squad will still compete in U23-aged matches and competitions.
The changes are designed to maximise the development of the Next Gen players, to strengthen the pathway into the senior team and allowing older players to be part of the squad.
“After just two camps, we’re already seeing the benefits of setting up the Next Gen group and we’re now looking to further develop the players and the group next week,” said Spacey, who is the senior team’s assistant coach.
“It’s really important that we’re working alongside the senior group as well so there is alignment and consistency across the age groups over style of play and what we want from our players.”
