Powerleague has teamed up with Karen Carney to provide free football training sessions for young female players this August.
Powerleague surveyed 1,000 8-16-year-old girls across the UK and found that although four out of five (82%) were inspired by England’s success at the European Championships last summer, half (47%) don’t think that they have access to sufficient facilities to play football in their area and the majority (55%) are not aware of any local initiatives or programs which aim to encourage them to pick up the sport.
Following these findings, Powerleague is offering young fans the opportunity to be coached by Karen Carney, the former midfielder who made over 140 appearances for the England Lionesses and represented Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympics.
These training sessions will kick off a wider initiative whereby the leader in small-sided football is also offering 100 hours of FREE playing time on its pitches, at all 41 venues across the UK and Europe, for grassroots girls’ youth clubs who don’t have access to suitable facilities – broken down into 20 sessions of five hours each. Powerleague is offering an additional block of five hours for every clean sheet that England keep during the current summer tournament.
Karen, who recently led the government’s review into the future of women’s football, will be leading a series of training sessions at Powerleague Shepherds Bush on Wednesday 16 August. The England legend will run a range of coaching drills and oversee five-a-side matches, before taking part in meet and greets where girls will have the opportunity to take pictures and receive autographs.
What: Football training sessions with Karen Carney, followed by a meet and greet
Where: Powerleague Shepherds Bush, 41 South Africa Road, London, W12 7RW
When: Wednesday 16th August; 14:00 – 18:00
· 14:00 – 15:00 (8-10 year olds)
· 15:00 – 16:00 (11-12 year olds)
· 16:00 – 17:00 (13-14 year olds)
· 17:00 – 18:00 (15-16 year olds)
How: To reserve your space, please visit: http://bitly.ws/PKU9. Bookings are taken on a first come first serve basis.
Christian Rose, CEO at Powerleague, said: “We are looking forward to welcoming Karen Carney in a few weeks, as we strive to inspire the next generation of female talent, by offering training sessions with one of England’s finest players. Research continues to show the barriers girls and young women face when it comes to access around football and so we wanted to create free access and opportunities for these young players to play. On behalf of everyone at Powerleague, I’d want to wish the Lionesses the best of luck this summer.”
Karen Carney, Women’s Super League Hall of Famer, said: ““I was so thrilled to be involved with the sessions Powerleague are giving away to young girls. There are so many benefits to getting girls involved in football from a young age – whether that be confidence, keeping physically fit and building social skills – and I hope that they continue to play for many more years to come.”
Powerleague is dedicated to growing women’s sport and is always looking to create opportunities designed to encourage young players to pick up a football or remove barriers to entry that might enable greater participation.
Alongside the free hours Powerleague is giving away this summer, the brand will continue running Women’s and mixed leagues, Summer holiday camps and football parties around major football events. Furthermore, they will be running Women’s 5-aside tournaments with non-profit organisation Girls United, where £25 from each entry fee will go to support girls’ access to football.
