Essex grassroots football is backing the national FA ‘Girls’ Football Week’ between Monday 5th and Sunday 11th October with a range of events and festivals to encourage more educational institutions to run female-specific sessions.
The week is being delivered in partnership with the Independent Schools FA, the English Schools FA, the Association of Colleges Sport and British Universities and Colleges Sport. This year the programme has been extended to include primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities, along with clubs and community groups who are also invited to participate.
In 2014, more than 2,000 people took part in the sessions across 80 institutions. It is aimed that, this year, 5,000 girls and women will play football during the week. To assist with this, The FA are sharing free-to-use promotional resources to participating schools and institutions. Ideas for events/sessions can be found at .www.thefa.com/girlsfootballweek
FA women’s football national project manager, Polly Fildes, said: “This year has seen real change and momentum in women’s football, especially with the success of the Lionesses at this summer’s World Cup, and we wanted to build on that by extending the programme.”
“We want as many schools, colleges and universities as possible to provide opportunities for their female students to play football during our national week of action, and we have created the tools and materials provided to make it as easy as possible for them to do so.”
“We have seen some real success stories across the country with our Women’s Football Weeks, with women not just trying, but continuing to play football, and we’re hoping for the same in October. We may even find the next generation of Lionesses!”
England and Arsenal defender Alex Scott added: “It’s great to see that there is a new week dedicated to getting more girls to play football. Anything that gives people the opportunity and confidence to try football is really important. As England players, we are always happy to see girls taking part in football and want to use our platform to inspire more people to play.”
Further information, relevant to the appropriate age group, can be found at:
Primary Schools: www.TheFA.com/Skills
Secondary Schools: www.TheFA.com/Schools
Colleges: www.ecfa.org.uk/development/womens-football.aspx
Universities: www.bucs.org.uk/womensfootballoffer
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
