Estelle Handy, First Team Manager

At just 21 years of age Estelle’s CV boasts a broad and diverse range of coaching experience within female football. Her coaching journey started with us at the mere age of 18, and since then she has developed hundreds of players through AFC Leyton programmes, won the 20/21 league with AFC Leyton U14s, has successfully completed the 21/22 season as the Manager for one of West Ham’s U16s Junior Premier League teams, is currently undertaking her UEFA B coaching license, and on top of all of that has successfully created a brand new competitive first team for AFC Leyton.  Estelle achieved all of this whilst simultaneously completing a degree is Sports Psychology.  This woman is a true inspiration to female football and definitely one to watch.

As as Club we are incredibly proud that Estelle has chosen AFC Leyton as her footballing home, and we are astounded by the quality of team she has built completely out of nothing, since August 2021. The brand new first team is now just one win away from the league title, and with the league cup being played this Sunday (22/05/22) we asked Estelle for her thoughts on the how its all gone.

“We have achieved so much in such a short amount of time. We have exceeded expectations, defied odds, ignored probabilities and achieved more than most teams we’ve come up against ever have. This does not stop here.” Estelle Handy

To us, Estelle is a clear example of the changing perceptions and dynamics of women in football. The AFC Leyton club itself and first team are entirely female led, from the Chair, to the Secretary and to the First Team Manager. It is our goal at AFC Leyton to grow the game, to get more girls involved in football earlier, to find and progress talent, to keep more women in the game longer and to further leverage the empowerment of women and the societal benefits of football.

Over the last decade, women’s football has experienced an unprecedented period of growth. We see a long future for Estelle within the game, and we are proud to be part of her journey. To achieve so much already at just 21 years of age, we know there is a lot more to come.