FA WALES LAUNCH NEW CAMPAIGN FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS’ GAME

BeFootball Campaign  // BeFootball National Team  

The Football Association of Wales have launched a new campaign ‘BE. Football’ which celebrates and unites all levels of the women & girls’ game in Wales.

‘BE. Football’ aims to challenge perceptions, inspire and give confidence so that women and girls across the game­ can BE their best self.

The launch event, held at the headquarters of Welsh Premier Women’s League sponsors Orchardin Cardiff, showcased the manyopportunities football allows you to be a part of, highlighted by an inspiring guest panel of; Wales international Natasha Harding, Wales Head Coach Jayne Ludlow, Sgorio’s Dylan Ebenezer, FAW Trust Community leader Ayah Abduldaim, ex-Wales international Danny Gabbidon and Penybont Head of Coaching and current UEFA A license candidate, Nia Davies.

FAW Trust Community leader Ayah Abduldaim detailed that, “For me to be a role model in my community, going into schools and engaging with ethnic minorities, getting young girls to join my sessions and participate in physical activity through football, my hope is for them to go back totheir schools and local teams to join clubs and continue growing the game”.

On the growth of the national side, Wales International Tash Harding added“I think people have connected with us showing our team spirit and our togetherness as a group. Fans can alsonow see that we are serious football players. For us now, it is about building on that identity and sharing it with those who have supported us from nothing. It is great to see we now have thousands attending our matches and is fantastic that we’ve grown as a nation together”.

A key element of the ‘BE. Football’ campaign is the introduction of a specific women and girls Instagram channel, @BeCymru, aimed at teenage girls and young women.The channel will host a mixture of football and lifestyle content, covering all aspects of the female game, including; the national team players, grassroots football, coaching, referees, fans, in addition to those working and volunteering in the sport.

Head of Women’s and Girls’ Football, Lowri Roberts said, “We are really excited to launch this new campaign. We hope that by creating relevant content, which resonates with a teenage audience and bringing to life the personalities within the game, we can encourage more women and girls to play, follow and work within football.”

In order to further drive participation numbers, the FAW Trust are focussing on offering a wider variety of football opportunities for girls in Wales outside of affiliated football.

One of these initiatives is ‘Huddle’, a football programme designed to introduce girls aged 5-12 to football in a fun, friendly and social environment. Each of the 23 Huddle centres will launch across Wales in September 2019 with National team players as ambassadors of the programme.

To keep up to date with the women’s game in Wales, visit BeFootball.Cymru and follow @BeCymru on Instagram.