The Big Interview: Jayne Ludlow
The former Wales head coach talks about her new roles at FIFA and the University of South Wales, and how her career path has been driven by a desire to follow her two genuine passions...
Self-confessed straight off the bat, Jayne Ludlow admits “I do like a challenge”, as she chuckles her way through my curiosity at her recent career moves.
Once a prominent figure in the women’s domestic game in England, as a legendary player for England and head coach for Reading, before taking her coaching skills to her home nation of Wales with the national team, Ludlow’s recent jobs have been more eclectic.
After leaving her role with Wales, where she still resides, Ludlow took on the job both running and re-establishing Manchester City’s girls’ academy, and now is duelling roles as part of FIFA’s Global Football Development Department with her day job as Head of Sport at the University of South Wales.
So, what has made someone who looked destined for a prosperous coaching career in the women’s game take on roles with FIFA and a university?
The short answer is a passion for learning, but the longer answer reflects Ludlow’s desire to help the sport she has forever been engrained in both develop and flourish.
Check out over 100 more unique stories just like this one in WFC’s Premium section, available for just £45 for 12 months, paid in one go, or a £6 a month rolling subscription.
All subscriptions come with a 7-day free trial to allow you to explore our full archive.
Plus, guarantee you everything that is to come over the next 12 months…
Save 67% on an annual subscription when subscribing with friends!
“I love learning, so it intrigues me!” she enthuses. “The people is a big thing too though, if you think of any of the roles I’ve ever taken, going all the way back to Reading. The first person I met there was Kelly Chambers, and I was like ‘yes! I’m coming to work with you, I like you!’ I had a good feeling and I loved working with her, and we kept that connection when she came with me to Wales for a certain amount of time.
“The Wales job was definitely a ‘heart over head’ moment, but we made changes, and I was proud to have the opportunity and the journey we went on. The Wales job was a combination of development and elite level football, and being honest, after seven years of the job I was battered, it was way too much to do.
“When we left, my small team left with me, but the roles I was doing they employed three or four people to do full-time, which was great, but it showed how challenging it had been.”
In terms of what came next, Ludlow continues, “I could have gone one of two ways. There were opportunities to go to a WSL club, but it didn’t feel right to go back into that senior day-to-day environment.
“The City opportunity came up, I met Gavin Makel [then Sporting Director] and again I just had a really good feel for him and their journey. It was another programme where we had to restart everything, because it wasn’t fit for purpose necessarily, so we made loads of changes and it was exciting and challenging, again!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Women's Football Chronicles to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.