WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
promoting the important message that everyone has a chance to shine. This is essential when in some parts of the country, there isn’t a single female-only under-18 team. Innovative schemes are encouraging women to train as coaches and referees, as well as helping teachers make sports more attractive to girls. One programme recruits girls in Key Stage 3 as young sports leaders, helping them design activities to motivate their peers and develop transferable skills – leadership, initiative, flexibility.
So what’s happening to make this a level playing field, where girls have the same opportunities as boys, along with the confidence to take them up? One big factor, of course, is wider media coverage of the big women’s matches – this can have a dramatic impact. After the Lionesses’ 2019 World Cup achievements, over 750,000 women expressed an interest in the game. Mixed teams are flourishing here and there. One local football club runs mixed teams all the way from age six to 14,
Yes, there are still many barriers – social and cultural, personal and practical – that make it harder for women to take part in sport. Better funding, accessibility (men still get more than their fair share of booking allocations), increased safety and more role models are all needed. Thanks to the Lionesses, among others, it’s at last becoming more visible. By 2024, the Football Association plans to give every girl the same opportunities to play football as boys. With the Lionesses showing the way, it has to be eminently achievable.
CAMBRIDGE EDUCATION GUIDE 63
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