The mother of Arsenal defender and England international Myles Lewis-Skelly is set to bring hundreds of football families together in Manchester next month for the only conference in the United Kingdom dedicated entirely to supporting parents navigating the football system.
Marcia Lewis, founder and chief executive of No1Fan.club, will host the second National Parent Football Conference on 27 September 2026 at Hotel Football, the well-known venue situated opposite Old Trafford. Around 300 parents, carers and football industry professionals are expected to attend, following the success of the inaugural event held in Croydon in 2025.
Lewis created No1Fan.club after experiencing first-hand the lack of clear, independent guidance available to families supporting a child through the football pathway. Her son Myles Lewis-Skelly came through Arsenal’s celebrated Hale End academy and has since established himself as a first-team regular at the Emirates Stadium as well as earning senior England caps — a journey that, according to his mother, exposed just how poorly equipped most families are when confronted with decisions around club selection, development pathways, education, contracts and player wellbeing.
A Platform Built from Personal Experience
No1Fan.club describes itself as the UK’s leading independent football parent platform, offering workshops, online resources, events, support calls and advocacy across all levels of the game — from grassroots Sunday leagues to professional academies. The organisation works alongside clubs and academies throughout the football pyramid and holds the status of an education partner of the Premier League, through which it delivers a specialist parent education programme.
“Parents want to do the very best for their children, but football can be a complicated world to navigate,” said Lewis. “Families are often making important decisions about clubs, development, education, contracts and wellbeing without knowing where to turn. This conference brings parents and the football industry together because informed parents create better experiences for young players.”
The conference programme has been designed around the questions that families most commonly raise, covering topics such as how to judge whether a child is at the right club, what the development pathway looks like in girls’ football, how to communicate effectively with coaches, when agents and contracts become relevant considerations, and how to support a young player’s mental wellbeing without inadvertently adding pressure. The programme also addresses the question many families are reluctant to ask: what happens if football does not work out?
Widening Access for All Families
A central principle of the event is accessibility. With support from sponsors, No1Fan.club is offering subsidised tickets for families in financial need, including those in receipt of free school meals or Universal Credit. Free places are also being made available for parents of girls participating in football, reflecting the growing profile of the women’s and girls’ game in England following the Lionesses’ successes in recent years.
Kate Iorpenda, Director of Programme Development at No1Fan.club and herself the mother of two young professional footballers, said the event addressed a longstanding gap in provision for families. “Parents deserve more than guesswork. They deserve access to people who understand the system and to other parents who have already experienced the highs and challenges of the journey. Too often, families are trying to make important decisions without knowing what questions to ask or where to find trusted advice.”
Why Manchester?
The choice of Manchester as the host city for this year’s conference is deliberate. As the home of two of the world’s most recognisable football clubs and a city with a deep grassroots football culture, Manchester provides an apt backdrop for a national conversation about how the sport supports — or fails to support — the families of its youngest participants. Hotel Football, which sits directly opposite Old Trafford, has become a well-regarded venue for football-related events and adds symbolic weight to the occasion.
The event reflects a broader shift in how English football is beginning to recognise the role parents play in a young player’s development. Research and practitioner experience consistently show that parental behaviour on the touchline and at home has a significant effect on whether children enjoy the sport and continue playing into adolescence and beyond. Providing structured education and peer support for parents is increasingly seen as an essential complement to coaching and player development programmes.
Tickets and further information are available on the No1Fan.club conference page. Media enquiries can be directed to Lisa Finch at kisa@no1fan.club.
