girls football – English Schools' Football Association

The England U15 Schoolgirls win the SAFIB Bob Docherty Tournament following a 1-1 draw with Scotland.

English Schools Football Association U15 Schoolgirl Bob Docherty Tournament v Scotland at Athlone Town Stadium on Thursday 28th March 2024 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

Scotland got the game off to a lightning start, finding the back of the English net within the opening 2 minutes of the game. However, England fired back straight away, a through ball from Sophia Burton was pounced upon by Emily Giddings whose touch took it round the keeper and all she had to do was roll it into the empty net.

The next two chances of the game fell to England’s Sophia Burton, who found herself through on goal following a throw in, her shot from the angle was tipped just around the post by the Scottish keeper. The following corner was played short to Dolly Reynolds, who whipped the ball into the box; Sophia Burton made some connection on the ball but her effort was cleared off the line by a Scottish defender.

The remainder of the half saw several chances for each team, with the game falling into a stalemate in midfield. The teams went into the break level at 1-1.

March 2024 (c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

England Manager, Sian Williams made a triple substitution at half time which gave England a more direct route to goal which they utilised well; finding Macie Mae Halsall on multiple occasions who held it up effectively. Evie Mitchell, another of the half time substitutes, was quick off her line to stop a couple of dangerous Scotland attacks early in the half.

England started to dominate the ball and the territory towards the end of the second half and looked the most likely to break the deadlock. Emily Giddings saw her shot find the side netting and Chloe Giddings saw her shot saved well by the Scotland keeper. However, no breakthrough was made, and the game ended 1-1 In full time.

The game moved to penalties to decide the winner of the SAFIB Bob Docherty Tournament 2024. England didn’t get off to the ideal start missing their first penalty, but some great saves from Evie Mitchell and a calm finish by Chloe Giddings won England the shootout for the extra bonus point.

England ended the Bob Docherty Tournament 2024 as champions and return to home soil with the trophy, along with the John Read trophy, which the girls won earlier in the week, after beating the ROI in their Wednesday fixture. The 2024 cohort of players scooped up all the possible silverware on offer to them and were a fantastic team throughout this year’s international campaign.

Those players who’s County teams are heading to ESFA National Finals this May will have that occasion to look forward and all the girls will then get together one final time this season, for their Cap Presentation event in June at Aston Villa FC.

Congratulations to the squad and the Management Team on an incredibly successful season!

The English Schools' FA

The National Governing Body for Schools’ Football in England.

The English Schools’ Football Association (ESFA) has been creating opportunities for girls within schools’ football since the mid-1990s and the Association continues to see record-breaking rises in girls’ football activity season after season.

The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is ‘inspiring inclusion’, a celebration of diversity and empowerment. The ESFA has worked tirelessly since the introduction of its first girls’ football competitions in 1996, to grow the opportunities available for schoolgirls across England and, particularly in the last 5 years, the Association has seen substantial growth year on year, with record breaking numbers of girls’ participation each season.

(c) Garry Griffiths | ThreeFiveThree Photography

Activity across the country

At present, the Association runs 54 National Cup competitions for pupils from U11 – U18 and 20 of these competitions are specifically for girls’ teams to continue the development of the players within the girls’ game. Furthermore, girls are permitted to take part in National Cup competitions as part of mixed teams across all age groups (in accordance with FA rules), providing a large scope of footballing opportunities for girls across the country.

The ESFA estimates that at least 40,000 schoolgirls across England have taken part in National Cup activity this season as a direct result of its competitions, over 120,000 girls took part in Schools’ Football Week activity during the dedicated event from the 5^th – 12^th February and through its network of 44 County Schools’ FAs and hundreds of District Schools’ FAs across the country, countless more players are taking part in activity each week in England.

The Association’s U15 England Schoolgirls’ squad are currently in the midst of their international season and these 18 players are working to increase their skills and opportunities, but also to inspire other young players to work hard and push to make the most of their hard work and talent. Their final friendly fixture of the season against the Wales U16 Schoolgirls’ team will be streamed live via the ESFA’s YouTube channel, ESFA TV, this Sunday (10^th March) from 10:50am.

Growing new opportunities

International Women’s Day 2024 “calls for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected. Inspire Inclusion encourages everyone to recognize the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalized communities.”

The ESFA recognises the hugely diverse nature of school pupils within all schools across the country and continues to work to create opportunities for footballing activity for everyone, whatever their background or identity, from the fun, friendly introductory sessions to football brought about through the Premier League Primary Stars festivals (formerly “Kickabout” festivals), the Hotshots intra-school football campaign, providing schools with a chance to receive money to invest into their football programmes, to the Deaf Schools’ Football Finals, the festivals hosted in partnership with the Association for Muslim Schools and the upcoming Blind and Visually Impaired ‘have a go’ days. The ESFA works hard to learn more about the barriers in place for children across England that may hinder their ability or willingness to take part in football and will continue to work with partners to try and break these barriers down to ensure that all children have the opportunity to enjoy playing football with their friends.

Women & Girls in ESFA Activity

Aside from the hundreds of thousands of girls participating in schools’ football, the countless teachers that inspire their pupils to achieve their goals through the National Cup competitions and the Team Managers in the U15 Girls’ international setup, the ESFA’s voluntary network also boasts women working hard to support activity locally.

The Association’s voluntary network across the country is always looking for new volunteers to support, create or improve activity within local areas and the newly created Reward & Recognition Awards are designed to celebrate these volunteers and their achievements.

To find out how you can get involved locally, head to the ESFA’s volunteer section of the website and see how you can support your local area with its schools’ football provision.

Sharing resources

Credit: https://www.premierleague.com/news/3924550

ESFA partners, Premier League Primary Stars have created some fantastic resources for primary schools in partnership with Nike. Their Active Allies campaign has been designed to grow self-belief in girls and inspire allyship in boys.

“As well as shining a light on inspiring women and girls within the game, the Premier League wants to instil positive behaviours in children by growing self-belief in girls and inspiring allyship in boys – so football can be truly everyone’s game.

The recent launch of the Premier League Primary Stars Active Allies resources with Nike, is an initiative that aims to empower girls to play football, with advice and support on creating an inclusive school environment, challenging bias within the school community, challenging gender stereotypes and supporting boys to be active allies.”

You can access and share the Premier League Primary Stars resources via the link above.

Happy International Women’s Day from all at the English Schools’ Football Association. The Association hopes to continue to spread the message of inclusivity and equality for children in schools’ football across England.

Links:

Hear from Claire Foster, General Secretary of Berkshire County Schools’ FA on the work they do within their County: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiqHbjcNryY&t=3s

Watch a recap of the England U15 Schoolgirls’ training camp at St George’s Park in February, ahead of the 2024 international season: https://youtu.be/uS7DGhUlGTU

Hear from Sian Williams, England U15 Schoolgirls’ Team Manager, talking about the 2023 training camp in Fleetwood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUp3IbJsjh0