For many years, participation levels for girls in football related activities in the UK were not very high, but in recent years that all appears to be changing. More and more girls are now playing and getting involved in the sport.
There are several reasons for this increase but what’s clear is that there is a concerted effort to grow the sport with female players in the UK.
For instance, back in October of 2013 a two-year scheme was launched to encourage more participation. Sessions were held that run for 30 weeks of the year and were a part of the FA Women’s and Girls’ programme.
For this initiative, the FA (football association), Sport England, the Premier League and the Football League Trust joined together to provide new grassroots football sessions. The goal being to increase participation to 40,000 females through the scheme by August, 2015.
It was the first time all of these bodies have worked together on a project like this one.
Another example is an FA-led initiative called Girls Football Week. During this designated week, October 6-11, the FA is encouraging schools to run female-specific football sessions. In 2015 the programme was extended to include primary and secondary schools, college and universities as well and clubs and community groups.
The hope is that Girls Football Week will continue to encourage and promote participation to girls and women of all ages in order to continue to grow the sport in the UK.
Since 2010/11 the UK has seen participation in adult female teams grow by over 5%. The total number of players in affiliated female adult football in 2015 was over 27,000 while the estimates for recreational players was pushing 100,000.
However the UK still ranks behind many other nations in Europe in U18 youth player participants. This obviously provides a smaller talent pool in which to select national teams for International competitions.
Speaking of International competitions, there is also the effect of the Women’s World Cup success for England. The England team was a big surprise by reaching the semi-final before losing to Japan in a heart breaking 2-1 loss.
But the World Cup performance has done several positive things for girls and women’s football in the UK. Not only has in increased attendance and coverage of the sport, but it has prompted many young girls to look up to the players and increase their own interest in participating.
So with the backing of organisations like the FA and the Football League Trust the UK can expect to see efforts continue to bring more female players to the field. In addition, the added exposure to the women’s sport through the attending of games or increased television coverage will also help to add to the overall interest level.
Although the UK still has a ways to go to rival the participation levels of some other European countries, it’s safe to say they are on the right path.