Schools Hit Girls' Football Target Three Years Early

The target that 90% of schools successful England should connection girls adjacent entree to shot successful PE lessons has been achieved 3 years up of schedule.

The fig was primitively group for 2028 and forms portion of nan Football Association's strategy to supply adjacent opportunities for women and girls to play football.

The Barclays Girls' Football successful Schools network, which began six years agone pinch 3,000 participating schools, now has 20,202 schools signed up.

The FA besides said that 2.6m girls now person adjacent entree to shot successful PE - a 31% summation since nan 2020-21 season.

The FA credited nan Lionesses' location occurrence astatine Euro 2022 arsenic cardinal successful "shaping authorities discussions and driving guardant argumentation change".

Sarina Wiegman's winning broadside signed an unfastened missive to past Conservative statement activity candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, asking for "every young girl" to beryllium capable to play shot astatine school.

The FA says 90% of schools now connection girls adjacent entree to shot done PE lessons astatine Key Stages 2 (aged 7-11) and 3 (aged 11-14).

"This was ne'er astir girls becoming nan adjacent Lionesses, it was astir normalising girls playing football, conscionable for illustration boys do. It's astir equality," said erstwhile England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright, who is an ambassador for Barclays Football.

After winning nan Euros astatine Wembley successful 2022, England reached nan Women's World Cup last nan pursuing year, losing to Spain. But they past hit Spain to clasp their European crown successful July.

"No woman should ever look barriers to playing shot successful school," said Stacey Mullock, nan caput of improvement astatine nan FA.

"That belief drove america to group eager targets and push for a taste displacement wherever girls person nan aforesaid entree and opportunities arsenic boys."

However, nan FA said location is "more activity to beryllium done" for Key Stage 4 (aged 14-16), wherever "many teenage girls extremity participating successful squad sports owed to barriers for illustration confidence, assemblage image, and antagonistic perceptions".

The governing assemblage besides intends to summation nan magnitude of schools offering adjacent opportunities done extra-curricular clubs from 83% to 90% by 2028.