A football academy for women is to be launched by Brighton and Hove Albion and Worthing College for the start of next season.

Trials are already taking place for the Albion's first ever academy specifically for women with the ultimate goal of securing Women's Super League status.

It could see Sussex and the south east become a “national powerhouse of women's football,” according to Worthing College.

The academy is a full-time education and football development programme for talented 16-18 year-old footballers, with a range of BTEC and A level qualifications delivered by the college as its part in the programme, while the football part will take place at the Albion's new state-of-the-art training ground in Lancing.

The Albion already has a Girls' Centre of Excellence, one of only 28 in the country, which identifies and recruits female players of outstanding ability between the ages of seven and 17. Its recent international successes include a number of players called up for the under-16s, under-17s and under-19s, with two players, Kellie Larkin and Paula Howells, playing international games for England under-17s.

But as Tracy Doe, the Albion's elite women and girls football manager, explains, there is a gap in the development of female players.

“The academy will bridge the gap between elite youth football to senior football,” she said. “Among the talented female football players aged seven to 17, there are two per cent who are elite and these are the players we hope to develop.

“The Albion is one of the few clubs that treats female players as equal to the men and the girls' centre is very successful.”

David Burke, Albion's head of football operations, described the move as “very exciting”. He said: “Everyone knows that we really want to promote the women's game here at the club.

“The one thing missing from women's football generally across the country is a programme for the girls to help with the transition from elite youth football to senior football. We want to become part of the Women's Super League as soon as we possibly can and this can only help further that ambition.”

Worthing College director Paul Cox hopes to see future England stars develop through the academy. “Sussex and the south east have the potential to become a national powerhouse of women's football and this partnership will further strengthen our local, regional and national sporting reputation.”

Worthing College already has a football programme that has seen students go on to play for the Albion's Women's Football first XI, and it plans to introduce Foundation Degrees in sport. Members of the new academy will receive daily training, fixtures, sports science support, physiotherapy, individual strength and conditioning programmes, mentoring and video analysis.

The Women's Super League was launched by the Football Association in 2011 as a semi-professional league forming the top tier of women's football.

It was developed to allow players to earn a living from the game and enable WSL clubs to find new sources of revenue and support for women's football. To find out more about the next academy trial on August 22 at the Lancing training ground, email Tracy Doe at Tracy.Doe@bhafc.co.uk