Opinion: Why should we help the importance of football grow?
Tosin Gbaja in her commentary ponders the question of the importance of educational football and why we should be helping it grow. Let's think about it.
- For many women and girls, their first meaningful experience of playing football happens in school or university—through PE lessons or joining football societies—and these educational settings often spark a lifelong passion for the game.
- While 85% of primary schools offer girls equal access to football in PE, this figure drops sharply to 50% in secondary schools, indicating a crucial bottleneck in access during the teenage years.
- The article argues that relying solely on club academies is insufficient. Many women’s teams lack sustainable funding or independence, making schools and universities essential for broadening access to football.
Some backround about the importance of visibility:
- According to FA data, up to 129,000 little girls started playing football after Euro 2022. The numbers are particularly high in cities that hosted the Euro.
Sources
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