UCFB academic wins Unsung Hero Award at Northwest Football Awards

One of UCFB’s academic staff was recently presented an award for her work in both men’s and women’s football.

Dr Danielle Prescott, an associate dean at UCFB Manchester and a senior lecturer, was presented with the Unsung Hero Award at the 2024 Northwest Football Awards.

Prior to her work at UCFB, Danielle was the first (and remains to this day, the only) female scout to work on the men’s side at Manchester United.

Much of her more recent work is based within the women’s game, working for the Football Association as a talent scout alongside her work at UCFB.

With her educational background, Danielle worked alongside the PSFA to create and deliver the first globally available course focused on analysis and recruitment within women’s football.

The introduction of this course also allowed her to be invited to deliver this to the newly crowned NWSL playoff winners Orlando Pride, in which she delivered the content to the head coach, assistant coach, sporting director and vice president.

Currently, she is undertaking research around the impact of menstrual cycles on female performers from the perspective of a scout, to help with scouting judgements when looking for talented female footballers of the future.

For all this, she was nominated and subsequently won the Unsung Hero Award at this year’s Northwest Football Awards ceremony.

“To be nominated and recognised is something I am really proud of,” Danielle said. “I work hard to try and make change and provide awareness through as many education platforms I have access to. 

“Being in that room alongside fellow nominees and winners like Keira Keating, Kobbie Mainoo, The Corinthians and so many more greats was fantastic and an experience I will never forget.”

Speaking about the moment her name was called, she said: “I was in complete awe and a little overwhelmed. 

“As they started to describe the winner of the award, I knew immediately it was me and the shock took over to the point that I didn’t quite capture all the commentary.”

“The night itself was an amazing event,” Danielle added, “and it was a real privilege to be part of it.  The event brought together so many people from the world of football including up and coming male and female footballers to historic figures like Ian Rush and The Corinthians Ladies team.”

She finished: “My plan going forward is to continue with my research in the female game, understanding menstrual cycles and how this alters performance is a critical part of an education piece around understanding player judgements and decisions in relation to scouting and recruitment. 

“My plan is to use this information alongside other projects I am involved in to educate those I come across including those who join us on the postgraduate coaching programmes here at UCFB.”

Find out more about UCFB Manchester’s academic staff and their work in the sports industry by clicking here.

You can also click here to learn more about the array of postgraduate degrees on offer at UCFB.