Lioness Laura Bassett surprised budding young footballers at Bedford Modern School to launch FA Girls’ Football Week. Taking place from Monday 23 to Sunday 29 April, the nationwide initiative will give girls aged 5 to 11 the opportunity to play football, inspired by some iconic Disney characters.

Bassett, who has 61 caps for England, attended a Girls’ Football Week event at the school, where she met girls taking part and joined in with coaching sessions.

Girls’ Football Week aims to inspire girls across all levels of ability to play football and get active, with an added sprinkle of Disney magic and storytelling. A variety of sessions led by FA qualified coaches will take place across the country and provide an introduction to the fundamentals of football, build key social skills and offer fun team-building exercises.

The football resources created by The FA include Disney-inspired drills featuring strong, determined and mould-breaking characters, including Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled, Moana from Disney’s Moana, and Judy Hopps from Disney’s Zootropolis. The drills will feature in the packs being distributed to schools, clubs and homes, aiming to inspire girls of all ages to try football, meet new friends and stay active, as well as to empower girls and build their self-confidence.

As well as getting the chance to play, girls who sign-up to take part will be provided with an official FA and Disney participation certificate and a 20 per cent discount voucher to use in Disney stores.

Laura Bassett said: “Having played football from a young age, it’s great to see just how many opportunities there are now for girls to get involved in the game. I fell in love with football as a little girl and as a huge Disney fan too, I would have absolutely loved the chance to attend these sessions. It’s a brilliant way for girls who perhaps haven’t played football before to step out of their comfort zone and give the game a go. If you know a girl who might be interested make sure she gets down to a session this week.”

Kelly Simmons, FA Participation and Development Director, added:  “FA Girls’ Football Week is focused on inspiring a new generation of girls to get active and fall in love with football. Football can offer these girls so much; from sheer enjoyment, to encouraging a healthy lifestyle and making friends. FA Girls’ Football Week is a central part of our plans – via The Gameplan for Growth – to double the number of females playing the game by 2020.”

In addition, Disney and The FA brought to life the stories of three aspiring players from Coalville Town Football Club in a short film, showing how they have taken inspiration on the pitch from bold and adventurous Disney characters. You can watch the video here and for more information and to find a session near you visit www.FAGirlsFootballWeek.com

Photo: Paul Currie for the FA

The nationwide football participation initiative will give girls the chance to play football, across all levels of ability, with an added sprinkle of Disney magic and storytelling.

Sessions by qualified coaches will take place across the country, using football resources created by The FA. Disney-inspired drills will feature strong, determined and mould-breaking characters, who take their destiny into their own hands and follow their dreams, including Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled, Moana from Disney’s Moana, and Judy Hopps from Disney’s Zootropolis. The drills will feature in the packs being distributed to schools, clubs and homes from April 9th, aiming to inspire girls to try football, meet new friends and stay active.

During the week, each FA Girls’ Football Week session will give girls an introduction to the fundamentals of football, build key social skills and offer fun team-building exercises for girls aged 5 – 11 to get involved, get motivated and get active.

Eve Tompkin aged 11, Mia Hawthorne aged 11 and Lauren Hatter aged 10 (Photo: Paul Currie for FA)

As well as getting the chance to play, girls that sign-up to take part will be provided with an official FA and Disney participation certificate and a 20 per cent discount voucher to use in Disney stores.

The FA is also encouraging clubs and organisers to register to run their own Disney-themed sessions during the week for which they will be provided with a range of Disney-inspired drills, illustrated FA and Disney branded imagery, online promotional tools and guidelines.

To launch the week, Disney and The FA brought to life the stories of three aspiring players from Coalville Town Football Club in a short film, showing how they have taken inspiration on the pitch from the bold and adventurous Disney characters.

You can watch the video here.

Photo: Paul Currie for the FA

Anna Hill, Chief Marketing Officer, Disney UK and Ireland, said: “Using Disney’s storytelling and characters, we can help The FA attract new audiences to FA Girls’ Football Week and showcase that there are opportunities for girls of all ages and experience to take part. This is another great example of Disney’s healthy living commitment in action, where we use Disney’s characters to encourage families and children to be more active together, and empower girls and build their self- confidence.”

Kelly Simmons, FA Participation and Development Director, added, “We are thrilled to be working with Disney for this year’s FA Girls’ Football Week. The combination of our football sessions with some Disney magic will help to make football a relevant and attractive offering for girls at this age and ensure every session is inspirational and fun.”

England’s Lionesses were also given a special surprise during their recent SheBelieves tour. As part of the ongoing partnership between The FA and Disney, while in Orlando the team were treated to a trip to Walt Disney World. The Lionesses had the chance to explore the Magic Kingdom, enjoy the attractions and meet some of their favourite characters, Minnie Mouse and Rapunzel.

FA Girls’ Football Week is a key initiative in The FA’s Gameplan for Growth which aims to double participation of girls by 2020. Last year the week involved over 60,000 girls across 1,400 universities, colleges, clubs, and schools nationwide.

For more information, to register and find a session near you as a participant or organiser, visit: www.FAGirlsFootballWeek.com

To share your Girls’ Football Week stories and to stay up to date with all the latest info, check out the Disney UK and The FA’s social media channels.

Report courtesy of The FA via Pitch

Karen Bardsley interacts with participants at at the Girls Football Week launch event.
Photo: Paul Greenwood for FA

After a successful 2016 that saw over 80,000 participants take part in over 1,000 events, 2017 marks the sixth year of the nationwide participation initiative – with the goal of engaging more female students to give football a go.

Taking place from Monday 6 to Sunday 12 November 2017, FA Girls’ Football Week is one of a number of initiatives delivered by The FA as part of its Gameplan for Growth – a pledge to double participation of women and girls in football by 2020 – and offers students a variety of coaching sessions for players of all abilities.

To find out if your college or university is taking part visit FAGirlsFootballWeek.com.

Karen Bardsley and Amy Turner during a training session. Photo: Paul Greenwood for FA

The initiative was launched at Manchester Metropolitan University with the help of England Women’s players Karen Bardsley (Manchester City) and Amy Turner (Liverpool), who took part in a number of FA Girls’ Football Week sessions with students.

Both players were able to pass on their knowledge of the game and experiences of playing football at university with Bardsley currently studying for a Masters in Sport Directorship at Manchester Metropolitan University and Turner previously studying at universities both in the USA and UK.
As part of the week’s activities, buddy health and fitness influencers, Twice the Health, are also calling on students to take part and share their experiences through a ‘squad selfie’ on social media using #JoinOurSquad. See how they got on in a session here .

Karen Bardsley, England and Manchester City, said: “Football is a fun way to stay fit and make new friends. The FA Girls’ Football Week initiative is a perfect, relaxed opportunity to give football a go.”

Kelly Simmons, FA Participation and Development Director, said: “What we want to see is more females of all ages playing the game and we have set ourselves the target of doubling participation by 2020 via our Gameplan for Growth strategy. At the very heart of The FA Girls’ Football Week is giving girls throughout the country the chance to try football, have some fun, keep fit and make a new group of friends. Hopefully girls who don’t play football regularly, will enjoy the sessions and be inspired to take up the game in the future.”

Report courtesy of the FA via Pitch.co.uk

Faye White (Photo: onEdition)

As the England Women’s football team competes in the UEFA Women’s Euro this summer, The FA has launched Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations, a participation initiative aimed at getting girls playing football.

Whilst England’s Lionesses strive for glory in the Netherlands, girls around the country back home will be able to emulate their football idols by taking part in sessions throughout the entirety of the tournament (Sunday 16 July – Sunday 6 August).

A number of girls were today joined by former-Lioness, Faye White, to launch the initiative, taking part in a training session underneath the iconic Wembley Stadium and getting some tips from White – with 90 caps to her name – on what it’s like to be a Lioness.

Faye White and two team captains (Photo: onEdition)

Following the success of previous Girls’ Football Week initiatives, including two separate weeks in 2016 which saw over 130,000 girls get involved, The FA has looked to use the Lionesses and UEFA Women’s Euro tournament to help inspire girls to try football for the first time or take part in an official session.

Helping support The FA’s Gameplan for Growth pledge to double the number of girls and women playing football by 2020, Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations will give girls the chance to take part in official sessions near them. There are currently over 168 partners across the country set to deliver these sessions, with The FA welcoming more to sign up in the coming weeks.

Whether girls are at an existing club, team, or are even just inspired by the Lionesses to start something new this summer, they can find out more and a session near them at www.TheFA.com/ForGirls

At the launch, Faye White said: “The Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations initiative is a great way to encourage girls throughout the country to get involved in the game. With the Lionesses off to Holland at the moment and excitement building across the country, hopefully this will act as a catalyst to inspire girls to get out and play football. With initiatives such as these and on-going programmes such as SSE Wildcats and The FA Lidl Skills there are more opportunities than ever before to get involved in the game. I personally can’t wait to watch the Lionesses compete this summer and hope to find the next generation of Lionesses in the coming weeks.”

Kelly Simmons, FA Participation and Development Director, added: “Girls’ Football Week has previously been a major success in terms of the participation of girls. With The FA’s Gameplan for Growth and target to double participation of women and girls by 2020, we’re looking to harness the excitement of the Lionesses involvement in the Euros to engage more girls than ever before to take part in football.”

One of the highlights of Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations promises to be the Premier League Girls’ Festival taking place at St George’s Park, the home of England’s elite training facility. This showcase event is run in conjunction with the Premier League and will see 43 teams from Premier League and English Football League community trusts competing in a Round Robin tournament on 27 & 28 July, with a winner announced at the end of each day.

Existing football clubs, SSE Wildcats delivery clubs, community trusts, FA Lidl Skills teams and County FAs across the country are still encouraged to register activities as part of Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations, including playing, training or even simply learning more about the beautiful game. Those interested in taking part will be provided with the following assets to set up their own Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations activities:

• Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations guide
• Lionesses UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 Activity Pack
• UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 Wall Planner
• Host of Digital Assets

To find out more about Girls’ Football Week – Euro Celebrations and register your involvement, visit: www.TheFA.com/ForGirls

Report courtesy of the FA

The FA is inviting schools, clubs, community groups, wider educational establishments and other organisations to run female-specific sessions during the week of Monday 25 April.

Tickets are limited and will be offered on a first come, first served basis.

In 2015 more than 16,000 people took part in Girls’ Football Week, over triple the original target. This year more than 22,000 girls aged 5-11 have registered to take part.

The FA is offering free-to-use resources to participating schools and institutions, which include session guides and promotional materials. You can sign up here to register your activity.

The FA WSL is the elite women’s league in England, comprising 19 teams across two divisions:

Report courtesy of the FA

The first week, which is focused on encouraging primary and secondary schools to put on football sessions for girls, will take place from Monday 25 April. The second, 10-16 October, will aim at raising participation at higher and further education establishments.

Clubs, community groups, wider educational establishments and other organisations are also being invited to run female-specific sessions during the week.

In 2015 more than 16,000 people took part in the event, over triple the original target. It is aimed that 17,340 girls aged 5-16 take part in the first week, a 20 per cent increase on 2015.

The weeks are being delivered in partnership with Independent Schools FA, English Schools FA, Association of Colleges Sport, British Universities and Colleges Sport, the Premier League and the Football League.

The FA is offering free-to-use resources to participating schools and institutions, which include session guides and promotional materials. This can be accessed by registering the session here.

Kelly Simmons, FA director of football participation and development, said: “Following the success of last year’s event it was decided that we could have an even bigger impact on participation levels by running two weeks, focusing on different areas.

“We hope that if more schools and groups put these sessions on that it won’t just encourage girls to start playing football, but they will carry on playing regularly, particularly for teenagers where sport drop-out rates can be high.

“2015 was a landmark year for women’s football and there’s no doubt that big occasions such as the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Lionesses’ achievements at the World Cup had a big impact on inspiring more girls to play.

“We are confident, along with our partners, that even more progress will be made this year and we encourage as many schools as possible to sign up and help us to get more girls playing football.”

England and Chelsea forward Karen Carney said: “I visited one of the Girls’ Football Week sessions last year in Birmingham and it was great to see so many girls enjoying playing football.

“If schools can create more opportunities for girls to try football, then hopefully more will love playing.”

Football is the largest female team sport in England with more than 2.89m players. There are more than 5,900 women’s and girls’ teams playing affiliated club football.

Report courtesy of the FA