Maria Figueiredo is part of the Manchester City squad who won the FA Women's Super League Development Cup Final. They made history as the first development team to gain such an achievement.

Maria currently studies full-time Level 3 Sport at Ashton Sixth Form College, balancing her studies alongside her training schedule at Manchester City.

The League Cup final against Birmingham City Reserves took place at St. George's Park and Maria said,

"The atmosphere in the ground was amazing as our supporters came to watch and support us all the way since the start of the FA League Cup competition. The parents were also there and showed great support as always, including the academy players and staff."

In the semi-finals of the League Cup, Manchester City beat Chelsea Ladies Development Squad, 2-0, and Maria was one of the goal scores. The final score against Birmingham City ended at 3-1, with the Manchester City Development Team lifting the trophy. 

"It was an amazing experience to have started and played the game as well in such an important game which was very important for both the team and club. It was an amazing day, experience and great memory which I'll never forget as it's my first FA League Cup trophy in my career."

As part of their celebrations and as a reward for their outstanding hard work during the season, Manchester City invited the Women's development team to meet the Men's first team at the Manchester City training ground. They were able to watch the first team train and learn from their experience. Maria explained that, 

"Whilst waiting for the players to arrive, we had the honour to have a chat with the coach Pep Guardiola and he congratulated us for the win. It was a great day and experience to watch them play with a lot of competitiveness and professionalism."

 

The Manchester City Development Squad have also secured the Women's North Development League title, winning 6-1 against Durham - Maria also scored a goal, consistently showing her determination and ability.