Published 30 July 2022 4 min read
Youth Football
#LetGirlsPlay sessions continue to inspire
#LETGIRLSPLAY FOOTBALL SESSIONS ENCOURAGE WOMEN AND GIRLS ACROSS ENGLAND TO GET INVOLVED WITH FOOTBALL!
With England currently hosting the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, this summer is proving to be an incredible moment, inspiring women and girls everywhere to get involved in our much-loved game. What’s more, with England through to the final, that inspiration is only set to grow!
This summer is a really exciting time for the female game in England, with more women and girls than ever before keen to get involved in football. Whether playing, coaching, officiating or simply watching from the sidelines, we want to ensure that women and girls across the country have the opportunity to take their first step into football, whatever that step might be.
That’s why we created #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions – a campaign set to encourage clubs and programme providers up and down the country to deliver women’s and girls’ football sessions throughout the month of July. To date, the football sessions, which form part of our wider #LetGirlsPlay campaign, have been a huge success and have gone a long way in helping us in our ambition to provide equal access for all.
With lots of exciting sessions, festivals and tournaments still ongoing, we wanted to share some of the incredible #LetGirlsPlay stories we’ve heard so far:
This summer is a really exciting time for the female game in England, with more women and girls than ever before keen to get involved in football. Whether playing, coaching, officiating or simply watching from the sidelines, we want to ensure that women and girls across the country have the opportunity to take their first step into football, whatever that step might be.
That’s why we created #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions – a campaign set to encourage clubs and programme providers up and down the country to deliver women’s and girls’ football sessions throughout the month of July. To date, the football sessions, which form part of our wider #LetGirlsPlay campaign, have been a huge success and have gone a long way in helping us in our ambition to provide equal access for all.
With lots of exciting sessions, festivals and tournaments still ongoing, we wanted to share some of the incredible #LetGirlsPlay stories we’ve heard so far:
Birtley Town FC
Capitalising on the tournament, Birtley Town Juniors arranged a Women’s EUROs inspired event, which saw 50 girls from their Weetabix Wildcats programme and #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions enjoy a night of football side-by-side.
Following a fun training session, all those who took part headed into the clubhouse to watch the Lionesses game, where the girls enjoyed free drinks and got their faces painted with England flags to show their support.
The Women’s EUROs has been extremely inspirational for the girls, with many seeing the players as role models. With this in mind, the club has continued to run showings of all of the Lionesses games throughout the tournament, including running additional girls-only training sessions before kick off!
Beyond The Ball
Snickers Protein Just Play Centre, Beyond The Ball, utilised #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions to raise awareness of its female football opportunities, in a bid to increase participation for women in the local area. A success all round, Beyond The Ball has since seen players who had previously dropped out return to get involved again and has also attracted a host of new players who had never attended before.
Incorporating both fitness and football, the session provides something for everyone in a safe and fun environment. Mental health and well-being, as well as the social benefit of football are key factors as to why women participate in football and are therefore core focuses within the session.
By being part of the #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions, the Just Play Centre has not only seen an increase in the number of people coming to the sessions, but those attending would now like to form a team and compete in regular competitive football. They will be entering the Greater London Women’s Football League for season 22/23 – a truly amazing result!
AFC Skirlaugh
AFC Skirlaugh used #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions to launch its Weetabix Wildcats sessions this July and was thrilled to have 16 girls turn up to the very first week. Despite the varying age range from 6 to 11, all of the girls were confident and enthusiastic to get stuck in, with the session made up of a range of games and mini matches.
The Women’s EURO buzz was also apparent, with some of the girls chatting excitedly about how they’ve been supporting England throughout the tournament. One girl has even watched every single game!
A great success story, AFC Skirlaugh has now hosted its third Weetabix Wildcats session and has 18 girls signed up to regularly attend. The club hopes to run the programme indefinitely, with the aim of starting up a competitive team as the girls gain in confidence.
Gillford Park
In aid of the UEFA Women’s EURO, Gillford Park teamed up with another local club to run a mega girls-only football session. An incredible turnout, 90 girls attended the session, enjoying some fun football games, whilst meeting other football fanatics and forming new friendships. Additionally, the clubs managed to get some personalised videos from Lioness Georgia Stanway and ex England goalkeeper Rachel Brown Finnis, which were shown to the girls for inspiration. Sharing the same home county, Stanway is a local hero for lots of the girls and they were extremely excited to hear what she had to say.
Cheshire FA
In support of #LetGirlsPlay, Cheshire FA ran two Weetabix Wildcats 4v4 festivals, which collectively attracted around 100 girls aged six to nine to attend. As part of the festival, the teams involved were themed as countries participating in the Women’s EURO, getting everyone excited and chatting about the tournament so far.
All of those who attended left happy and inspired to continue to play. There were also gifted a Lionesses water bottle and presented with a Weetabix Wildcat certificate – both great mementos for remembering an incredible day!
Capitalising on the tournament, Birtley Town Juniors arranged a Women’s EUROs inspired event, which saw 50 girls from their Weetabix Wildcats programme and #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions enjoy a night of football side-by-side.
Following a fun training session, all those who took part headed into the clubhouse to watch the Lionesses game, where the girls enjoyed free drinks and got their faces painted with England flags to show their support.
The Women’s EUROs has been extremely inspirational for the girls, with many seeing the players as role models. With this in mind, the club has continued to run showings of all of the Lionesses games throughout the tournament, including running additional girls-only training sessions before kick off!
Beyond The Ball
Snickers Protein Just Play Centre, Beyond The Ball, utilised #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions to raise awareness of its female football opportunities, in a bid to increase participation for women in the local area. A success all round, Beyond The Ball has since seen players who had previously dropped out return to get involved again and has also attracted a host of new players who had never attended before.
Incorporating both fitness and football, the session provides something for everyone in a safe and fun environment. Mental health and well-being, as well as the social benefit of football are key factors as to why women participate in football and are therefore core focuses within the session.
By being part of the #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions, the Just Play Centre has not only seen an increase in the number of people coming to the sessions, but those attending would now like to form a team and compete in regular competitive football. They will be entering the Greater London Women’s Football League for season 22/23 – a truly amazing result!
AFC Skirlaugh
AFC Skirlaugh used #LetGirlsPlay Football Sessions to launch its Weetabix Wildcats sessions this July and was thrilled to have 16 girls turn up to the very first week. Despite the varying age range from 6 to 11, all of the girls were confident and enthusiastic to get stuck in, with the session made up of a range of games and mini matches.
The Women’s EURO buzz was also apparent, with some of the girls chatting excitedly about how they’ve been supporting England throughout the tournament. One girl has even watched every single game!
A great success story, AFC Skirlaugh has now hosted its third Weetabix Wildcats session and has 18 girls signed up to regularly attend. The club hopes to run the programme indefinitely, with the aim of starting up a competitive team as the girls gain in confidence.
Gillford Park
In aid of the UEFA Women’s EURO, Gillford Park teamed up with another local club to run a mega girls-only football session. An incredible turnout, 90 girls attended the session, enjoying some fun football games, whilst meeting other football fanatics and forming new friendships. Additionally, the clubs managed to get some personalised videos from Lioness Georgia Stanway and ex England goalkeeper Rachel Brown Finnis, which were shown to the girls for inspiration. Sharing the same home county, Stanway is a local hero for lots of the girls and they were extremely excited to hear what she had to say.
Cheshire FA
In support of #LetGirlsPlay, Cheshire FA ran two Weetabix Wildcats 4v4 festivals, which collectively attracted around 100 girls aged six to nine to attend. As part of the festival, the teams involved were themed as countries participating in the Women’s EURO, getting everyone excited and chatting about the tournament so far.
All of those who attended left happy and inspired to continue to play. There were also gifted a Lionesses water bottle and presented with a Weetabix Wildcat certificate – both great mementos for remembering an incredible day!
Springfield FC & Michael Richardson Football Academy
In Chelmsford, two Weetabix Wildcats providers came together for an exciting end of season fixture. Led by two female coaches (both of whom are mums to young Wildcats!) and a female young leader, the session saw just under 20 girls enjoy a range of fun, football-focused games at a new Football Foundation 3G site. As a very young group, these girls are just starting out on their football journeys, but they have expressed how excited they are to be learning about the Lionesses and girls’ football in general!
Isle Of Man FA
Following the success of the England Women’s team, Isle Of Man FA hosted a tournament and festival at their National Bowl Stadium, encouraging 43 girls to come along and give football a go. Whilst some participants had previously played in teams for their school, others had never kicked a football before, but all felt inspired and eager to play after watching the tournament on TV.
In-keeping with the tournament theme, the girls were assigned a EURO team name such as Belgium, Sweden, Northern Ireland and England and were asked to nominate a volunteer coach to oversee them for the event. Whilst Sweden ended up the overall winners of the 6-a-side tournament, all girls from each team were presented with a medal or Lioness water bottle to take home as a reminder from their fantastic day. Spirits were high despite some wet weather, with one team even singing along to ‘Singing In The Rain’ as they played one of their matches.
A huge thank you goes to all clubs and providers who are helping to #LetGirlsPlay this July. The support and participation we have seen has been truly incredible and we look forward to seeing it continue for years to come!
What is #LetGirlsPlay?
By 2024, our ambition is for girls to have the same football opportunities as boys in schools and clubs. #LetGirlsPlay is a campaign to drive influence and change perceptions, showing that football can and should be played by girls. It is bringing together a growing community of people of all genders, ages and backgrounds who want to champion equal access for girls, helping create independent, resilient young girls who will be a force for good in all local communities.
To find out more, visit: www.englandfootball.com/letgirlsplay
In Chelmsford, two Weetabix Wildcats providers came together for an exciting end of season fixture. Led by two female coaches (both of whom are mums to young Wildcats!) and a female young leader, the session saw just under 20 girls enjoy a range of fun, football-focused games at a new Football Foundation 3G site. As a very young group, these girls are just starting out on their football journeys, but they have expressed how excited they are to be learning about the Lionesses and girls’ football in general!
Isle Of Man FA
Following the success of the England Women’s team, Isle Of Man FA hosted a tournament and festival at their National Bowl Stadium, encouraging 43 girls to come along and give football a go. Whilst some participants had previously played in teams for their school, others had never kicked a football before, but all felt inspired and eager to play after watching the tournament on TV.
In-keeping with the tournament theme, the girls were assigned a EURO team name such as Belgium, Sweden, Northern Ireland and England and were asked to nominate a volunteer coach to oversee them for the event. Whilst Sweden ended up the overall winners of the 6-a-side tournament, all girls from each team were presented with a medal or Lioness water bottle to take home as a reminder from their fantastic day. Spirits were high despite some wet weather, with one team even singing along to ‘Singing In The Rain’ as they played one of their matches.
A huge thank you goes to all clubs and providers who are helping to #LetGirlsPlay this July. The support and participation we have seen has been truly incredible and we look forward to seeing it continue for years to come!
What is #LetGirlsPlay?
By 2024, our ambition is for girls to have the same football opportunities as boys in schools and clubs. #LetGirlsPlay is a campaign to drive influence and change perceptions, showing that football can and should be played by girls. It is bringing together a growing community of people of all genders, ages and backgrounds who want to champion equal access for girls, helping create independent, resilient young girls who will be a force for good in all local communities.
To find out more, visit: www.englandfootball.com/letgirlsplay
#LETGIRLSPLAY