Chelsea Foundation has today launched Inspire Her – a five-year mission to drive girls’ participation in football, building ambition and passion for the game in the next generation. The multi-year ‘always on’ programme will aim to drive habitual change in 9-14-year-old girls, instilling long-term positive habits for those key years when girls typically drop out of physical movement and beyond into early adult life.

Through Inspire Her, Chelsea Foundation with the support of Nike as Official Participation Partner will: empower girls in our local communities to play and love football; inspire girls to pursue their passions on and off the field; and create the next generation of female change makers and leaders across the game.

Research shows that the transition from primary to secondary school is key for young girls’ participation in football and wider sport, with 61% of teenage girls feeling judged when doing sport.  We know that a longer-term approach is needed to achieve deeper engagement in football.

Inspire Her has been formed with these insights at its core, co-designed with insights from girls, teachers and experts. Focusing on depth above breadth of engagement, the programme will create sustained engagement with a focused group of young girls in our local communities, delivering maximum impact and ensuring girls create positive habits for physical movement as they move into early adult life.

With out-of-town facilities inaccessible to many and consequently a further barrier to participation, Chelsea Foundation will engage primary and secondary schools that need it most in our local areas and commit to working with a cohort of girls from years 5 through to 9 on a fortnightly basis for the academic year. The sessions will include football development and educational activity, with topics including wellbeing, exploring careers in football, and body confidence – these sessions will leverage the Nike Body Confident Sport resources.

The sessions will culminate each term in Inspire Her festivals, bringing girls together to connect across age groups and geographies at Chelsea FC’s Cobham training ground. The festivals will include football competitions, creative workshops, educational activity and talks about career opportunities across the game. Throughout the programme, girls will have the chance to win a variety of prizes including matchday tickets to see Chelsea Women at Kingsmeadow and Stamford Bridge, open training experiences and the opportunity to meet players and programme ambassadors.

Chelsea Foundation will then re-engage girls in Inspire Her by continuing the programme in the same schools across the five-year commitment, working with secondary feeder schools to ensure we support girls in their transition from primary school.

Through Nike’s support as Official Participation Partner of Inspire Her, Chelsea Foundation will nearly double the contact hours delivered in the first year of the programme.

Chelsea Women’s captain and trustee of the Chelsea Foundation, Millie Bright, and Chelsea Women’s forward, Sam Kerr, have been appointed as ambassadors of Inspire Her. Through these roles, Bright and Kerr will play a key role in the programme, visiting Inspire Her schools throughout the year, meeting participants and taking part in Inspire Her festivals.

To launch Inspire Her, Chelsea Foundation has released a film across social media ahead of Chelsea Women’s game against Manchester City Women at Stamford Bridge this Saturday. The film features programme participants and Inspire Her ambassadors, Millie and Sam.

Inspire Her ambassador and trustee of the Chelsea Foundation, Millie Bright, said: “I’m thrilled to be an Inspire Her ambassador. It shows what Sam and I represent and our values – I care deeply about the next generation, so I’m really proud Chelsea are leading the way in girls’ grassroots football.

I hope other clubs are inspired to also prioritise greater access into football for girls, as well as creating a community and safe place where girls feel confident to express themselves and be who they want to be.

Inspire Her gives girls the power and confidence to make their own choices on what they want from life: whether as a footballer, a coach, a referee or beyond. I’m very proud to be part of this journey and watch these girls become the next generation of Chelsea superstars.”

Sam Kerr, Inspire Her ambassador, added: “Inspire Her is all about inspiring the next generation of girls, which is something Millie and I both feel really passionate about. I’m proud to be a part of changing the game for girls, and that Nike shares this mission as the programme’s Official Partner. It’s important that girls have people to look up to, whether that’s a footballer, or a sports director, or whoever it may be – someone for girls to be inspired by.

As an Inspire Her ambassador, I’m most excited to give back to the girls, and proud I can give back after all this game has given me. When I was young, I would’ve loved to have a programme like this. I love football, so I want it to be in the best hands possible, and these girls are the future of football.”

Laura Cordingley, CEO of Chelsea Foundation, said: “Chelsea Foundation is delighted to launch Inspire Her. Through this five-year programme, we will support the next generation of girls in our local communities to realise their potential both on and off the field. Inspire Her is built off the insights of girls, educators and local partners who have helped us form a programme we know will deliver real impact.

We are thrilled to have Nike onboard as our Official Partner and look forward to working with them to drive our shared ambition of empowering girls to play and love football, building healthy attitudes to physical movement as they progress into adult life”.

Dan Burrows, Global GM, Future of Youth Sport, Nike, said:“Nike is committed to powering the future of youth sport, because an active next generation means a healthier and more equitable future for all kids. We know girls face complex cultural and social barriers to getting (and staying) active, so we are thrilled to partner with Chelsea Foundation to launch the Inspire Her programme and demonstrate our shared commitment to increasing girls’ participation in football.”

With thanks to the Chelsea Foundation