2 minute read
Girls no long passing on football
For so long a male domain, football in the Thames Valley is now opening its gates to girls as young as five.
The local impetus is coming from the Berks and Bucks FA’s Wildcats programme, which in 2019 ran sessions through no fewer than 45 centres. This year, it expects to increase that to between 55 and 60 as more clubs take up the grants and support now available to help them.
Across the UK as a whole, there are now some 1,250 Wildcats centres, a figure that has grown quickly as a direct result of the success of the England Lionesses in last summer’s Women’s World Cup. By June last year, 2.6 million women in England said they were playing football.
Ellen Hopkins is the Berks & Bucks FA’s Football Development Officer and also coaches girls in West Oxfordshire. “The response in our area has been really positive,” she says. “Parents are saying that daughters who would never previously have played football are loving it and that their social confidence has grown as a result.”
Wildcats is for girls between five and 11 years and aims to encourage youngsters to take a first step into football. The sessions provide a safe environment for girls to have fun, make new friends, develop fundamental skills and create foundations for a lifelong love of sport.
Participating clubs receive a £900 grant over two years to help them train (and sometimes pay) coaches. They also receive balls, bibs and a variety of other support materials. Shinfield Rangers, which has used it as a launch pad to get some 30 girls into football. Abingdon Youth Football Club was in at the beginning of Wildcats in 2017 and now has five girls’ teams. Other successful centres include those at Park House School in Newbury and at nearby Cold Ash.
While some centres offer Wildcats sessions for free, others may need to make a small £2 or £3 charge to cover higher running costs. Most welcome girls for an initial try out session and urge them to bring along a friend to share the fun.
Sessions take place on a weekly basis, either after school or at weekends.
To find your nearest centre please visit berks-bucksfa.com/wildcats.
The Look Out Discovery Centre
Local clubs who have made a success of the scheme include
Bring this voucher to get one free child with one full paying adult*.
Valid until 12/07/20 *Terms and conditions apply.
• Science and Discovery Fun • Over 90 hands-on activities
O P EN 1 0am - 5pm every day
FAMTVWMAR20
