Women’s football in the UK has grown exponentially in the last five years but former London City Lionesses and Newcastle Utd first team coach backs a BWSL and BWSL 2 golden period is excitingly still to come.
Speaking exclusively to WSLfootball.com, Luke Thomas-Arayo has backed the women’s game to go from strength-to-strength, admitting the influx of data, coaching, technology and infrastructure has still not reached its peak despite the massive boom in popularity of the women’s game since 2021.
“I don't think we're anywhere near the golden period”, when asked about the heights of the women’s game in the UK right now.
“I don't think we'll see that golden period for another good couple years.
I still think there's so much more room for the whole of the youth pathway to grow in general.” He continued.
Thomas-Arayo, whose journey began at West Ham academy in 2018, is one of the many in the women’s game best placed to chart its rise, having straddled the intersection between ‘on the grass’ youth team coach to ‘touchline’ first team level to great effect across the BWSL and BWSL2.
As well as cutting his teeth in the Professional Game Academy (PGA) as one of the game’s few ethnic minority coaches, operating in the whole women’s football eco-system.
“I still think you've still got so much more growth and the growth is now trickling down into the grassroots, which will obviously improve that game as well. I think once you start, it's just going to be a cascading effect from top to bottom.”
“Now even the PGA is flourishing. We're starting to see it trickle down into the grassroots. Okay, great. And then once it trickles down into the grassroots, it will then become a self-fulfilling prophecy in the way.”
He wanted to emphasise, it must continue to grow from its roots, with the PGA’s a powerful platform to nurture players both on and off the field.
But also how the Women’s National League (WNL), with teams such as Portsmouth, Oxford and Fulham operating full-time or near full-time hybrid models can really put pressure on the top two leagues to continue innovating which will in turn allow their own to prosper.
“And I do think it is only a matter of time until the WNL goes professional or if not until they have grown to a stage where they are pushing the BWSL and BWSL2 sides and demanding even greater rises in professionalism.
I do foresee a period in the coming years where the game will go to a whole new level we haven’t yet seen. The way clubs are improving and you're having teams lower down actually provide more finances in today's women's game.”
Having come into the game as a youth team coach at West Ham and Charlton, it’s been a sharp rise to prominence for the 33-year-old, who now had first team experience at both London City and Newcastle.
It’s the data and statistical models now on offer to coaches and young players alike that has propelled the women’s game forward.
But crucially, it’s getting both parties to understand the data and action it out on the training pitch and in the matches that is crucial to player development. And for coaches like Thomas-Arayo it can be a gold-mine if you get it right.
“I got access to some programs and data sets that I'd never used before, and I remember getting this being quite shocked, we get all this data?!. This is unreal.
Five or so years ago, there were just one or two sites to use, now it’s three and four to pull key stats from.
But then what’s important is to think okay, how do you actually make use of this data then?”
Someone who is so passionate about the growth of the game from the very grass-roots level, Thomas-Arayo has seen first hand the steep rise in resources from age-group football at West Ham and Charlton all the way to the professional level, with London City Lionesses and Newcastle.
But he takes a real holistic approach whether he’s coaching an Under 12 at Charlton or highly-experienced former internationals such as Demi Stokes, Jord Nobbs and Morgan Gautrat.
“You have to package it (the data) in a way to be understood, not just by me but a player who is 16, a player who is 23 or even an experienced pro who hasn’t been exposed to this level of data on their game before.
The crucial part that I wrestle with, and how I interpret if I’m doing a good job, is how do I actually go about making it usable for players?”
Interestingly, he was still at LCL in 2023, during the time Michelle Kang took over from founding owner Diane Culligan and saw the ruthless side of the game as she made her mark on the English game.
“Looking at her from my perspective she makes ruthless decisions, but most of the time it’s worked for her.
You view it from the outside and it’s like, "Wow, it's growing."
He continued; “If you look at football in general, football is a business right? And Michelle understands that.
Taking it objectively, she owns a highly-successful club in Europe (OL Lyoness), you've got a huge club in the USA (Washington Spirit), and you went after a club in England, that’s the three biggest markets and leagues in the game.
If you look at it through that lens and her subsequent achievements at those clubs, then she's only ever going to do what she feels is in the best interest (for London City).”
Having spent 18 months in a first team coaching role at BWSL2 side Newcastle, Thomas-Arayo has moved back to his family in London to pursue opportunities closer to home.
It’s clear his passion for coaching is burning as bright as ever. Having now picked up experience at both grassroots and first team level in the BWSL2, his mission to be a pillar of support whilst inspiring players and staff around him will mean his next move is not too far away.
As well as doubling-down on Lexi Lloyd Smith as the standout talent in BWSL2 last season, having got her move to BWSL side Crystal Palace in the summer.
Thomas-Arayo waxed lyrical about new Brighton signing Emily Murphy, who he saw first-hand last season at Newcastle, emphasising the point of nurturing good people off the pitch as well as top players on it too.
“She really is just someone who puts a smile on your face. But then on the pitch, she's ferocious. And she's hungry to learn. She is a quick learner basically and does whatever she needs to do to get to where she wants to be in the game.
This idea of player development on and off the pitch is where Arayo-Thomas feels he can bring the most value to players.
“These are the kind of things I’m most proud of, especially youth players. I really do believe listening can be an underrated quality. Can you look back and ask yourself how you have impacted a player in a positive way? Can you leave a positive impression on them?
It could just be one piece of information that can impact them in a positive way. But even if not, that I can hold myself accountable and be a positive person, that's always just been my driving force.
Just be a light. That's the way to describe it. I just want to be a light, I'd say that that's just always what I'm striving for.”
