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7 April 2026  6 min read

Family affair - how the the Female Basketball Association is investing in the future today

Focused on participation, leadership and long-term player pathways, the Female Basketball Association (FBA) is investing in coaching, officiating, youth development and early childhood programmes to strengthen the future of girls’ basketball across Greater Manchester and the wider region. 

And a recent grant of just under £10,000 from Sport England’s Movement Fund is helping the FBA address a gap in the system. Currently, just three Level 2 coaches support more than 145 community players, including an under-12, under-19 regional team and two women’s sides operating across Manchester, Stockport and Trafford. The scale of junior participation has far outpaced the available coaching workforce. 

“It’s mainly to upscale our girls into leadership roles,” says FBA founder and one of those three coaches, Jade Bow-Butters. 

“So, I think we got like 10 level one courses, 10 level two courses, and some of it was for managing that workforce, and that was mainly what the funding was for.  

“Over time, that'll be a gradual thing, so I think this year, we've put on six level ones. Those now come to our junior sessions to help out. We've got someone who leads the sessions on level two coming up.” 

In total, the funding will help train approximately 20 coaches - an essential step in supporting the programme’s continued growth, with the funding primarily focused on developing female leadership by upskilling players for coaching roles. 

Young players in the FBA programme

How the FBA began 

The FBA was founded during the COVID lockdown period by Bow-Butters, a PE teacher and referee who wanted to break her cycle of work and officiating.  

Instead of simply returning to the hardwood, where she played for a number of seasons in the WBBL and won the 2021 Women’s National Cup with Stockport Lapwings, she decided to build something new, something she could grow. 

Bow-Butters launched the FBA alongside her two sisters, Vogue and Autumn, both basketball players, with their first step being an adult basketball league at Manchester College.  

Initially, the emphasis was purely on participation with a goal of creating a welcoming environment for women who wanted to play. 

“Getting people to play at the time was really tough, to be honest,” Bow-Butters admitted.  

“For players who have retired from the National Leagues and the professional game, having somewhere else to play was very difficult. We wanted to start something, but it just didn’t work at first.” 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Jade Bow Butters (@femalebasketballassociation)

Within six to nine months, though, players began asking for more competitive opportunities. Demand quickly grew, turning what started as a recreational league into a well-structured community programme. 

As participation grew, the organisation encountered its biggest challenge: a shortage of coaching capacity. 

“With the money we have received, we want to use it to get more girls involved in basketball, but away from the playing side, we have so few coaches, and for one person to do this, alongside two more, is impossible,” Bow-Butters said. 

Alongside workforce development, the organisation has a clear long-term sporting vision. Within five years, the goal is to field teams across every North West youth age group: Under-12, Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18.  

This will allow players to remain on a consistent pathway rather than leaving for established clubs such as Manchester Mystics, Manchester Giants, or Bury Spinners. 

Currently, the North West regional league has nine under-12 teams. As those players progress, the expectation is that each age group could eventually support a similar number of teams. 

The internal league originally began with four FBA teams and has since grown to include external teams, including the Chinese Women’s Basketball Club Continue and the Liverpool Liverbirds.  

Jade Bow Butters (back row, fourth from right) and sister Vogue (front, centre) as part of the National Cup winning Stockport Lapwings side in 2021

The league provides a friendly environment where the FBA develop new female referees, giving them valuable on-court experience in a safe setting.  

Over the summer, this competition transitions into a 3x3 league, creating further opportunities for players, referees and teams to stay involved, develop their skills, and continue building the women’s basketball community. 

And, inspired by Bow-Butters’ 19-month-old son, the programme is also expanding at the youngest end of the pathway. A new Mini Ballers initiative will launch for children aged 18 months to five years of age. 

Mini Ballers aims to address the lack of early childhood basketball opportunities not just in the North West but also across the country, focusing on enjoyment, movement, and confidence rather than technical basketball skills.  

The initiative will also partner with local boys’ basketball clubs as a feeder system. Boys can transition into existing programmes, while girls can progress through the FBA pathway. 

“Early engagement is key,” Bow-Butters said. “Without it, many children are captured by sports such as football, rugby or netball before ever encountering basketball.” 

Jade Bow Butters in her refereeing guise

Leadership development remains central to the programme’s philosophy. Bow-Butters is actively identifying young women within the organisation who can take ownership of projects and eventually lead them independently. One long-term aim is for a young female coach to run the Mini Ballers program herself. 

International tournaments previously attended by the group are currently on hold while local infrastructure develops. However, interest is there. 

“It’s something I would love to do, and I’m sure it’ll happen in the future,” Bow-Butters said. 

For Jade and her team, the focus remains clear - building coaches, developing leaders, and creating lasting opportunities for girls to grow through basketball in the North West. 

By John Hobbs 

The Female Basketball Association on Instagram