Women’s football is expected to experience a boom in participation In Nottingham as the summer of female football reaches fever pitch...
Nottingham City of Football Managing Director, Amanda Chambers, believes that the on field success of England and Notts County Ladies will have a ripple effect increasing participation for women and girls across the city.
Chambers, who was appointed permanent MD of the City of Football project in April 2015, has seen a similar effect in cycling within her former role involved in the development of the Derby Arena as Head of Leisure and Cultural Development at Derby City Council.
The successful England side contains a number of Notts County Ladies players including Ellen White, Laura Bassett, Alex Greenwood and Carly Telford who will feature in the first ever Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley against Chelsea on August 1st.
Chambers commented; “The success of both England and Notts County Ladies is fantastic for female football in the area and it is vitally important for the City of Football.
“Our aim is to be the fastest growing city for female participation across the UK and we will utilise the excitement within the top levels of the women’s game to increase awareness and participation across the city.
“There are some tremendous role models within women’s football and they are truly people that young girls and adults can aspire to.
“As the City of Football is it our role to provide the opportunities for everyone to experience and enjoy football in an environment that suits their needs and showcases the positive effect that the game can have on their lives.
“We already have a number of initiatives in place to capitalise on the buzz around the women’s game and these will increase as the programme continues its development.
“There are thousands of women and girls not involved in football activities at the moment and it is our challenge to do things differently and engage with them on a new level from football fitness and dance classes to more traditional team involvement.”
Girl’s only sessions are already under way with Notts County and Nottingham Forest Football in the Community programme and there is a brand new Female Footy Fives five a side football scheme on Monday evenings starting on July 6th with a free taster session on June 29th at 6.30pm. Details of all these activities can be found at in the other areas of the website.
Key challenges to be met include raising the levels of participation in football in Nottingham by 25 per cent, promoting the cultural, social, health and educational benefits of football, supporting diversity among those playing football, and creating new initiatives which can be replicated across other regions in the country.
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