Liverpool Ladies FC team up with Goal programme to shatter stereotypes and empower adolescent girls.
There is no doubt that the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup signified a further leap in the evolution of women’s football.
Broadcast across 187 territories, this was a championship that would go on to capture the imagination of a global audience and firmly challenge the myth that women’s sport is something that is simply “tolerated” institutionally.
Despite an apparent gender equality milestone being achieved, it seems that the playing field for the women’s game remains largely an uneven one compared to their male peers.
Whilst the championship showcased the same heroics and ability to inspire younger generations as the men’s game, it failed to shed light on the ongoing legal, cultural, social and domestic disparities that still exist for girls and women across the world.
There is no doubt that the key ingredients of football – and sport in general – can be used as a springboard to address these gender imbalances and demonstrate what women can achieve.
In light of this, Standard Chartered launched #ThisGirlsGoal – a new social media advocacy campaign associated with their globally acclaimed Goal programme. Delivered in partnership with Liverpool Ladies Football Club, the campaign will invite women globally to share positive statements about the barriers or gender perceptions that they aim to personally smash to , using #ThisGirlsGoal.
@GoalGirlsGlobal
Launched by Standard Chartered in 2006, the Goal programme continues to inspire young women around the world through sport, providing adolescent girls with the tools to challenge stereotypes, shatter barriers and live more meaningful, enriched lives. Run in partnership with leading non-profit organisations, Goal offers weekly sessions to adolescent girls from urban communities helping them change opinions of themselves and their role in the world.
The Goal programme has so far reached over 146,000 girls in 26 countries throughout the world and aims to reach a total of 600,000 by the end of 2018. The campaign hopes to help girls realise that they have an integral part to play across their families, communities and economies.
Pictured: (L-R) Asisat Oshoala, Natasha Dowie & Gemma Bonner of Liverpool Ladies FC at the launch of the Standard Chartered #ThisGirlsGoal campaign
At the centrepiece of the campaign is an emotive video featuring Liverpool football stars Asisat Oshoala, Natasha Dowie and Gemma Bonner who use their own football prowess to smash the oppressive statements that have long overshadowed the perception of their sport.
As two of the most high profile names currently in the women’s game, Asisat Oshoala and Fara Williams are players who can personally resonate with the importance of the Goal initiative having overcome their own personal barriers to improve their quality of life through sport.
As the most capped player in England Lionesses’ history, Williams recently revealed that football had helped her overcome a challenging childhood after leaving home at just 17 years old.
“I know from my own experience that it’s so important that we provide young girls with a clear pathway, irrelevant of their beginnings. We’re all aware that we’re in a position to change perceptions and provide greater opportunities for the next generation, but these are only words,” said Williams.
“As footballers, we have a responsibility to ensure that the evolution of the women’s game travels beyond the world of sport and transpires within everyday life. That is what Goal is all about and I am delighted to be involved.”
As the first African ever to play in English women’s football, Oshoala grew up playing the game in Nigeria with the boys at her school due to cultural beliefs that women should not be playing sport.
“The school I attended didn’t have a female football team; it was just men that played. My parents didn’t really want me to play football, but when you are determined, sometimes you convince people with your attitude and with your commitment,” said Oshoala, who was recently announced as the BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year.
“You have to set an example for other people and I feel that I have a role to play through my profession. I started off on the dusty pitches of Nigeria and now I am playing at the top of the women’s game; anyone can do it! I am still young, but there are a lot of girls worldwide looking up to me that I hope to inspire further.”
#ThisGirlsGoal was launched on August 27th in the UK and will be rolled out across the 26 countries that the Goal initiative currently operates in across the next year
SHE KICKS – the online community for women’s football
