England star Karen Carney presents new kit to Shropshire County Girls team

Karen Carney handed over a brand new football kit to the Shropshire Girls U16 County team this week.

The England Women and Birmingham City Ladies star visited the girls at Shrewsbury Town’s recent game with Doncaster at Grenhous Meadow.

And she handed over the kit as part of England team sponsor Vauxhall’s Youth Programme initiative, just days before travelling to the Cyprus Cup with the England squad.

She said: “It is great to see a local side enjoying their football and I am delighted to handover the new Vauxhall kit to the team.

“It is vital that we support grassroots football in England for the good of the woman’s game moving forward - this is a fantastic initiative and one I am proud to support.”

Local Vauxhall retailer Greenhous have shown their commitment to grassroots football in the area by supplying the squad  with the brand new kit.

And Dave Sullivan, Director and General Manager at Greenhous, added: “Supplying Shropshire County Girls team with a brand new kit is just the starting point to what will be an exciting partnership.

“Vauxhall’s sponsorship of Shropshire County Girls highlights the importance of supporting the game from the bottom at grassroots level to the top at the international game, and showcases just how committed Vauxhall are as a Home Nations football sponsor.”

The Vauxhall Youth Programme initiative follows an extensive study by HPI to determine the factors affecting drop out within the 14-17 age group and forms part of The FA Vauxhall Youth Programme.

According to the research, the main reasons for the decline in participation in this age group is due to a realisation that they are not going to play professional football, club football becoming more competitive, the lure of other pursuits and external pressures including school work, travel arrangements and part-time jobs.

The FA’s Senior National Game Development Manager Peter Ackerley explained: “The FA is working closely with its Youth Partner Vauxhall alongside Sport England to understand the issues around the significant drop off in football at this age and ensure that we address this with the appropriate football, tailoring it to engage the youth audience.

“This is about looking at what our young players are telling us and providing them with options to overcome the highlighted barriers, helping transition them into creating a football habit for life.

“We have no doubt the local support of the Vauxhall dealerships will make a significant positive difference to football in their local area.”