Former Wolves midfielder Joe Jackson has set out on a quest to expand the amount of girls’ teams at New Park Village in Wolverhampton.
Jackson, who is assisted by his wife Debbie and chairman Ephraim Thompson, celebrated 25 years since the foundation of NPV Football Development this year.
NPV launched the team, which plays in the Staffordshire Women’s and Girls League, in 2022.
And McDonalds have now become the team’s new sponsor for the 2023-24 season.
NPV have amassed 10 boys’ teams from under-7 to under-16 level, but Jackson is confident that the expansion of the girls’ teams will reach the same number in five years.
“The girls are what we’re starting to develop. It took 25 years to get us to where we are with the boys, but I don’t anticipate it to take 25 years to do the same with the girls,” Jackson insists.
“I truly believe we can get the same amount of girls’ teams in a shorter space of time. Maybe even in the next five years.
“The problem we have at the minute is we don’t have quite enough girls for one age group. Even in the under-12s, we’ve got six Year 6 students and six Year 7 students.
“That’s what we’ve got at the moment, and we’ll keep that model for now. The idea is to see if we can get more girls’ teams, and if we can, get them more within their age groups.”
McDonald’s sponsorship has seen them help finance the club’s kit and various types of equipment.
NPV celebrated its 25-year anniversary earlier this year, and Jackson is proud to have helped so many young people realise their dreams.
“Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself and it really has flown,” he says.
“Even though this is my job, I really don’t feel like it’s a job. I feel like it’s my calling or my hobby, and it’s been fantastic.
“We’ve helped to make Wolverhampton a better place across these 25 years just by using the game to reach people that potentially without us wouldn’t realise their dreams, their ability, or their potential.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. There’s been ups and downs, but there have been far more ups. It’s not just myself, my wife Debbie has been by my side throughout it all.
“Another key person is chairman Ephraim Thompson, who has been a real blessing to us and a real cog in the wheel in terms of making things work.
Jackson made one appearance for Wolves in 1984, and went onto enjoy a distinguished career in non-league for the likes Bilston Town, Hednesford Town, Worcester City, Yeovil Town and Dover Athletic.
The former midfielder set-up NPV in 1998 due to the growing gang culture in Wolverhampton.
NPV have a partnership with Wolves to help create a pathway for players into the academy, and Jackson hopes that his story can inspire others.
“That’s really at the root of the whole experience. Me playing for Wolves was a dream,” he reveals.
“I just loved the game so much that I was preoccupied with football. It was only when I got older that people told me I was the first black player born and bred in the city of Wolverhampton to play for Wolves.
“I really didn’t realise that. You don’t go out trying to do things like that, you just try to be the best that you can be, in the skin that you’re in.
“That’s what happened and I feel blessed to have had that experience. Racism was rife is those days but I was so embroiled in the game that I certainly was blinkered.
“But I really just let the football do the talking. So I say to youngsters, you have a far easier environment so you shouldn’t allow anything to stop you.
“If it didn’t stop me then it doesn’t have to stop you. You can only really stop yourself.
“My experience with Wolves really got me to where I am today and I want to really demonstrate to our young people and their families that if they want to achieve something then they can.”
And after a quarter of a century, NPV will soon have its own premises, as Jackson revealed himself.
“We’re in the middle of discussions with the city council to sign on the dotted line a lease for the former Wolverhampton United football ground based on Prestwood Road in Wednesfield,” he confirms.
“We’ve been in discussions for about 18 months and we’re getting to the final part now where we feel that by October we will sign on the dotted line, and the ground will be ours for the next 25 years.
“That’s the work that’s been put in and we’re looking forward to having our own premises. It’ll be a big step in the right direction, and we’ll also have somewhere to call home, and somewhere these youngsters can come to on a regular basis and feel as if they’ve got their own space to develop.”
Are you interested in joining the NPV Girls Soccer Development programme? If so, please email npvfootballdevelopment@yahoo.co.uk or call 07932 348894. Or alternatively, you can register an interest the website at npvfootdev.co.uk.
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