🚀 Check out this insightful post from BBC Sport 📖
📂 Category:
💡 Key idea:
The target that 90% of schools in England should provide girls with equal opportunities to play football in PE lessons has been achieved three years ahead of schedule.
The number was originally set for 2028 and forms part of the Football Association’s strategy to provide equal opportunities for women and girls to play football.
The Barclays Girls in Schools Football Network, which started six years ago with 3,000 schools participating, now has 20,202 schools signed up.
The FA also said 2.6 million girls now have equal access to football in PE – an increase of 31% since the 2020-21 season.
The FA credited the Lionesses’ home success at Euro 2022 as a key factor in “shaping government discussions and driving forward policy change”.
The winning side, led by Sarina Wegman, signed an open letter to the then Conservative leadership candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, demanding that “every little girl” be able to play football at school.
The FA says 90% of schools now provide girls with equal opportunities to play football through physical education lessons in Key Stage 2 (ages 7-11) and Key Stage 3 (ages 11-14).
“It was never about girls becoming the next lionesses, it was about normalizing girls playing football, just like boys do. It’s about equality,” said former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who is a Barclays Football Ambassador.
After winning the European Championship at Wembley in 2022, England reached the Women’s World Cup final the following year, losing to Spain. But they then beat Spain to retain their European title in July.
“No girl should face any barriers to playing football at school,” said Stacey Mullock, head of development at the FA.
“This belief has driven us to set ambitious goals and push for a cultural shift where girls have the same access and opportunities as boys.”
However, the FA said there was “more work to be done” for Key Stage 4 (ages 14-16), where “many teenage girls stop participating in team sports due to barriers such as confidence, body image and negative perceptions”.
The governing body also aims to increase the number of schools offering equal opportunities through extra-curricular clubs from 83% to 90% by 2028.
⚡ Share your opinion below!
#️⃣ #schools #achieved #target #giving #girls #equal #access #football #years
