Schools hit girls’ football target three years early

Three years prior to schedule, the goal was met by achieving the requirement that 90% of English schools should provide girls with equal access to football in PE lessons.

The Football Association’s plan to offer equal opportunities for women and girls in the sport was originally set for 2028.

20, 202 schools have signed up for the Barclays Girls’ Football in Schools network, which started six years ago with 3, 000 participating schools.

Additionally, according to the FA, 2. 6 million girls now have access to football on an equal level with the PE program, up 31% from the 2020-2020 season.

The Lionesses’ home success at Euro 2022 was crucial in “shaping government discussions and moving forward with policy change,” according to the FA.

The winning party candidate for the Conservative Party, Sarina Wiegman, wrote an open letter to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss asking that “every young girl” play football in the classroom.

According to the FA, 90% of schools now offer girls equal access to football through PE lessons in Key Stages 2 and 3 (aged 11-14) respectively.

“This was never about girls becoming the next Lionesses; it was about normalizing girls’ football,” he said. Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who serves as Barclays Football’s ambassador, said it’s about equality.

England won the Women’s World Cup final at Wembley in 2022, but lost to Spain in the following year. However, they defeated Spain in the summer to win the European crown.

No girl should ever have to go through the FA’s head of development, Stacey Mullock, who argued against that.

“That opinion led us to set high expectations and advocate for a cultural shift where girls enjoy equal access and opportunities as boys,” he said.

However, the FA stated that “more work needs to be done” for Key Stage 4 (aged 14 to 16), where “many teenage girls stop participating in team sports because of obstacles like body image, body image, and negative perceptions.”