Archive for year: 2016

Women’s football was a big winner last weekend with SSE Women’s FA Cup Final and FA Girls’ Football Festival both thriving successes

Wembley saw a fantastic SSE Women’s FA Cup match on Saturday with Arsenal Ladies successfully securing the prestigious title for a record 14th time. Prior to the match the atmosphere was buzzing with another fantastic FA Girl’s Football Festival at Wembley Powerleague. The festival was run by The FA, Premier League and the Football League Trust and saw over 200 girls from 20 clubs across England participating in 5-a-side matches as well as getting involved with a huge array of fun football activities.

This unique tournament is a celebration of the over 60,000 young women who have joined the world of football since October 2013 through the Football Participation Programme. The festival was a great day for young girls to get out on the pitch with their team mates and compete against other clubs. The games were competitive and exciting for the U-16 participants who were specifically invited by the Football League Trust and Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion FC, coming out victorious wining the tournament. Being at Wembley Powerleague was a great opportunity for the girls to show off their skills in the shadows of Wembley Stadium connected by EE, perhaps driving them in the future to aspire to play themselves on the hallowed turf.

Wigan Athletic participant: “This has been such a fantastic day! Having the opportunity to be at Wembley is incredible for us. The festival was great to take part in between our games, especially competing on the speed cage. Now we all can’t wait for the SSE Women’s FA Cup Final; it’s going to be brilliant!”

The FA’s commitment to encouraging more girls to get stuck into the game through their “We Can Play” campaign, which has provided a fun day out for clubs, their players and families. With football-based activities and competitions keeping festival-goers busy and active, it really is an all-round success. Skill driven exercises such as the ever popular batak board reaction testing and target shooting were an excellent opportunity for keen players to check up on their abilities and see how they might improve their game!

During the downtime, there was music, hair braiding and face painting on site. All round The FA Girls’ Football Festival in association with Continental Tyres Festival had something for everyone.

If this wasn’t enough action already, Oxford United players, Katharine Nutman and Lauren Haynes made a special appearance showing off their football skills and answering questions about playing at the top of the game. This was a real inspiration for younger players.

Katharine Nutman said: It was a fantastic occasion and a real celebration of how far women’s and girl’s football has come in recent years. There were a great variety of activities for the girls to get involved with and it was great to see girls of different abilities all enjoying themselves.

With the Premier League and The Football League Trust supporting women in football across the country and delivering sessions through their member clubs, the future will see many more young women joining the game!

This Saturday, Football clubs from around the country will compete in the Walking Football Regional Finals for a place to compete at the prestigious St Georges Park on 7th June.

Acting as a prime opportunity to stay active, Walking Football is a brilliant way for the older generation to stay active and keep fit, participating in a sport that they love. A slow-paced version of the game which is aimed specifically at the over 50’s, allows participants to cover 30 miles and burn 4,200 calories over a 3 month period, just by playing for 1 hour a week.

Every May and June, we run the Walking Football Cup, in which EFL Clubs hold a local competition through their community trust. The winners are then selected to represent their club at a regional level. The top 2 teams in each region then qualify for the finals. Last year, Plymouth took the winning title with a 2-1 win in the final against Blackpool. Walking football has been growing year-on-year, with 56 of the 72 clubs taking part this year, the competition has been tougher than ever.

Commencing in Derby on Monday 9th May, teams representing Derby County, Burton Albion, Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, Walsall, Crewe Alexandra, Coventry City and Wolverhampton Wanderers all made the trip to the Moorways Sports Centre to take part in the Regional Finals of the competition. Mansfield Town were the overall winners, beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the the final.

14th May will see the remaining 4 finals take place. With over 40 teams taking part throughout the day at Blackpool, Doncaster, Exeter and Luton, Saturday is a big day for Walking Football.