The Football Association is boosting the range of coaching opportunities for 5-11-year-olds with the addition of girls-only after-school sessions through the FA Skills programme.
FA Skills caters to children of all abilities and sessions are designed to make the participants more active – gaining greater fitness and technical footballing ability and also to help them develop their life and social skills.
“The awareness of girls’ football is growing”
Martin Preston FA Skills National Manager
FA Skills sessions are implemented to boys and girls through after-school football coaching or within football-based PE lessons in school time.
The new offering of girls-only sessions supports The FA’s #WeCanPlay initiative – launched to shatter the lingering pre-conceptions about women’s and girls' football and boost participation.
FA research released in the summer revealed that among girls surveyed, unlike tennis and netball, only just over half felt that football was a game for them.
And across sports that dads would encourage their daughters to partake in, football trailed well behind swimming, athletics and gymnastics in seventh spot. However among boys, football was a clear top preference.
FA Skills National Manager Martin Preston said: “The awareness of girls’ football is growing, so too are the number of positive role models out there in the women’s game.
"Football is for all and the addition of girls-only FA Skills sessions helps to target those girls who show an interest, but are more comfortable expressing this in a girls-only environment.
“The programme has been in existence for more than seven years and we have provided over seven million places through FA Licensed Skills Coaches.
"The onus is on ensuring that the children who participate enjoy the game irrespective of their ability and within a safe environment where they can make friends and develop skills.”
