Barclays and England Football are leading the #LetGirlsPlay campaign which looked to create the biggest ever girls’ football session on Wednesday 9th March – following both the EFL’s Women’s Weekend campaign and International Women’s Day.
By 2024, The FA’s and Barclays’ ambition is for girls to have the same access to football opportunities as boys in schools and clubs.
#LetGirlsPlay is a campaign to drive influence and change perceptions, showing that football can and should be played by girls. It is bringing together a growing community of people of all genders, ages and backgrounds who want to champion equal access for girls, helping to create independent, resilient young girls who will be a force for good in all local communities.
As part of the #LetGirlsPlay session, players from Dartford FC Women’s Teamand Dartford FC Community Programme organised a role model visits programme for some primary schools in the Dartford area. Emily Read supported class coaching sessions at Hextable Primary School, where children wore football kits or sportswear to school. Jo Woodgates delivered an Assembly to Key Stage 2 pupils on her pathway in football and the opportunities to play, followed by a dedicated coaching session to the Girls Football Team at Temple Hill Primary School. Shauni Griffiths led some girls only football sessions at Wentworth Primary School, and captain Lizzie Adams supported the Year 6 Girls Football Team at The Brent Primary School as they organised football tournaments for all girls in Years 3&4.
Lizzie Adams, Dartford FC Women’s Captain, said “Tackling gender stereotypes and other types of discrimination in football and wider society is something we know still needs a lot of work. We were delighted to team up with the Dartford FC Community Team and the participating local schools for a really fun day of football. We continue to place a focus on this as a team and are looking forward to a session to keep working on this with Kick It Out in the coming weeks and look forward to doing more with schools and girls’ teams in the area.”.