Government pledges ‘long-term commitment’ to women’s football

The government has set a target of “more than doubling” priority access to grassroots football pitches for women and girls, as part of a series of plans announced following the Lionesses winning this year’s Euro championship.

As part of its Plan for Change, the measures will dramatically increase the share of primetime slots for female teams at government-funded facilities across England over the next five years, with a long-term target of reaching equal access as demand grows.

In partnership with the Premier League and The Football Association, the Government will be launching a new grants scheme to be delivered by the Football Foundation, which will focus on creating welcoming, safe and accessible facilities for women and girls at existing grassroots sports sites. There will also be a new approach to school sport, which will see schools and national governing bodies of sport work together to make sure that all children have access to high quality sport. By working to connect local sports clubs, national bodies and schools, a new national network will be created, with the aim of “making sure girls have the same opportunities as boys to play sport at school”. It follows recently announced plans by the Prime Minister to reform school sport to deliver equal access for girls alongside boys.