Womens and Girls football

Women and Girls

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Making Strides

The FA has made huge strides in creating opportunities for women and girls to play our national sport. Indeed, football is now officially the biggest female team sport in England. Last season over female 147,000 players competed in affiliated league and cup competitions – a figure which has risen from just 10,400 in 1993, when records started.

But there is still massive growth potential – 1.1 million girls play kickabout football – and barriers to overcome.

For example, women and girls from some ethnic communities remain unaware of the opportunities which exist – and there are cultural, religious and social norms to overcome. The same applies to disabled women and girls.

The involvement of females in football also extends beyond playing. We want to increase the number of female coaches, referees and administrators.

Underpinning all our work are some other key messages - Football is fun, it improves self-esteem, creates new friendships – and like all sport, it plays a key role in combating obesity, particularly in teenagers.

Muslim Women's Awards

Wembley Stadium staged the inaugural Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation Ambassador Awards on Wednesday 2 May 2012.

FA Chairman David Bernstein opened the ceremony in the Bobby Moore Suite with a short welcome message and also had the honour of presenting the UK Sportswoman of the Year award to Sahra Hassan, a professional golfer from Wales. Among those also representing The FA were England senior women’s head coach Hope Powell and internationals Rachel Yankey and Alex Scott.

The high-profile event, hosted by Na’eem Raza and Ruhana Ali, focused on female role models from the Muslim community and those, Muslim and non-Muslim, who have worked to increase access to sports for Muslim women across the globe.

To read more about this event and Muslim participation in football then please read the resource document below.