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Youngsters attending the local girls’ player development centre have been given their first kit.
The centre was established as part of a pathway to encourage more girls to start playing and revitalise women’s football in the island, which has seen a gradual decline in recent years. It is part of the Football for Everyone initiative, which is a partnership between senior representatives of the sport on the island and sponsor Ravenscroft and aims to develop and expand youth football in Guernsey.
‘As part of my role, I work closely with primary schools and run after school clubs to introduce football to girls in years one and two. The girls player development centre complements that by providing those girls with a pathway to continue playing,’ said girls’ development officer Joelle Pengelley.
‘It’s growing in popularity and we have girls aged from five up to 11 from all of the island’s primary schools coming along regularly. As we grew, it was important that we had an identity and a kit, so I’m very grateful to Ravenscroft for providing us with one as part of their sponsorship of the “Football for Everyone” initiative.’
Youngsters need to attend 10 sessions before they are given the purple playing shirt, white shorts and white socks.
‘We wanted the kit to reward those players who have shown real commitment and incentivise others who have just joined. The value of a kit to young players far outweighs the financial cost as it brings them together and makes them train, play and work together as one,’ said Miss Pengelley.
Once the players reach 11, they then join the girls’ academy. Miss Pengelley’s aim is to encourage enough girls to take up the sport that each football club in the island creates a girls’ minis section.
‘When I first started playing football, almost every club had a minis section for both girls and boys. That’s the ultimate aim but in the short-term, it would be great to see more girls joining clubs and for the minis sessions to become truly mixed as that can only help the long-term future of the sport,’ she said.
Since Football for Everyone was launched, students from two schools have completed the FA Junior Football Leaders Award and the first season of the Ravenscroft Youth Leagues has attracted hundreds of players.
‘It’s exciting to see the enthusiasm and hard work of those involved with football in the island coming together and producing results. As Ravenscroft has grown, we have seen how important team work is to our success and so we hope that the girls’ team spirit will be nurtured by having their own kit,’ said Katy Sandrey, group head of marketing & PR at Ravenscroft.
