Nikita Parris and Fara Williams kick off Big Football Day

Hundreds of grassroots clubs from across the country are taking part in The FA’s Big Football Day powered by The National Lottery during the month of July, to show support for the Lionesses as they take to the European stage whilst driving opportunities for women and girls to get involved in football.

As England’s EURO campaign got underway against France on Saturday night, Lionesses legends Nikita Parris and Fara Williams joined a special Big Football Day event in Newham, East London. The day saw hundreds of grassroots players and members of the local community come together for a celebration which included a range of fun football activities – from taster sessions for women and girls, to face painting, craft workshops and a watch party for the England v France game.

With the number of girls playing football more than doubling since the Lionesses lifted the EURO trophy on home soil three years ago, Big Football Day powered by The National Lottery aims to build on the momentum generated by England participating in a major tournament to continue to grow the women’s and girls’ game.

England player Nikita Parris, who was part of the EURO-winning squad, said: “Becoming European champions in 2022 was special for so many reasons, one of biggest being the way it’s inspired so many more women and girls to get involved in football. It was amazing to come down to the Big Football Day event in London and see the impact first hand. The growth of the game wouldn’t have been possible without the investment from The National Lottery which was really important for me on my journey to playing for England and will continue to be for the generation who come after me.”

Deva Sunassee, co-founder and coach of Central Park Allstars who were at the Newham Big Football Day event, commented: “Days like today are so important because there is such a demand from women and girls to want to play football, I’ve seen it right in this neighbourhood. Events like this create visibility so we can tell girls that there is a place for them to come and play football.”

The campaign forms part of Made for this Game, which was launched to support the drive to unlock equal opportunities for all women and girls in football, whilst showing it is a sport where they belong. Big Football Day powered by The National Lottery is running throughout July, with clubs still able to sign up to take part and show their support via www.englandfootball.com/bigfootballday where they will receive a free festival pack to host their own event.

Alice Kempski, National Development Manager at The FA, said: “Big Football Day is all about getting grassroots clubs to open their doors to more women and girls to inspire them to get involved with football. It’s using the power of the Lionesses to drive an impact at a local level, creating long-lasting opportunities for women and girls to play. We have hundreds of clubs already engaged already but we want to see even more sign up and get involved.”

Big Football Day is part of the £6 billion investment The National Lottery has made into grassroots sport, helping create millions more opportunities for women and girls to play.