Bloomsbury Football wants to provide every young person in London with access to the positive mental and physical benefits of playing regular football. The beautiful game has life-changing benefits: not only can you become a better football player, you can become a happier, healthier and more resilient individual.  

We exist to overcome the combination of barriers that prevent young people from playing organised football – from the high price of pitch hire to inaccessible session locations. Though we believe football is for everyone, the simple fact is that access is unfairly unequal. Girls are disproportionately affected by these barriers, meaning many young girls are not benefiting from the physical and mental benefits of being active.  

The stats don’t lie. In 2023, Women in Sport found that just 29% of girls dream of reaching the top in sport, versus 52% of boys. In the same report, eight in ten girls still believe women’s sport isn’t taken as seriously as men’s (Women in Sport, Daring to Dream: The Gender Dream Deficit in Sport, 2023).  

Sport England found that fewer girls (44%) meet physical activity recommendations compared with boys (51%) (Sport England, Active Lives Children and Young People Survey, 2023). Youth Sport Trust found in 2023 that 64% of girls aged from 7 to 18 want to be more active in school but there are barriers that stop them taking part such as not being confident, having their period and being watched by others (Youth Sport Trust, Girls Active National Reports, 2023). 

That’s where Bloomsbury Football comes in. We’re committed to championing Girls Football in London and want to tackle the girl-specific barriers that stop them getting onto pitch.  

Each week, we engage 5,000 young people on the pitch in London. 35% of these players are girls. We engage girls across our range of programmes – from Girls Football and Futsal Academy teams, community sessions to girls-only Refugee & Asylum Seeker sessions. 

To widen our impact, we’ve devised a Girls Strategy, along with an ambitious pledge: to have a 50/50 split of boys and girls in our programmes by 2028. That means 10,000 young women engaged every week, across London.  

Last night, Bloomsbury Football hosted a panel event to launch the new strategy. Thought leaders in Women’s Football drew from personal experience to give insight into the barriers that stop women participating, and how we can all be champions of the sport.  

Thank you to our panelists and moderators for their excellent contributions to the event:  

Understanding the barriers to participation: Sirayah-Shiraz (Sports Presenter and Host), Anouk Denton (West Ham player and U23 Lioness), Khalida Popal (Founder of the Afghanistan Women’s National Team), Ryhanna Parara (Presenter, Content Creator and Actor), Tanya Martin (Head of Impact & Innovation, Women in Sport). 

How brands can champion women’s and girls’ football: Esmé Scantlebury (Special Projects Manager, Bloomsbury Football), Deena Greaves (UK Projects Lead, IDA Sports), Ellie Cross (Senior Marketing Manager, Starling Bank), Morgan Brennan (Head of Women’s Football, INDIVISA), Shamima Begum (Head of Corporate Communications, EMEA, Adobe).

As a charity, we rely on the generosity of individuals and organisations to support us on our mission. We would love to work with you to make Bloomsbury Football’s 50/50 pledge to girls a reality.  

Through a partnership with Bloomsbury Football, you could help to provide safe places where young women can develop confidence, teamwork and resilience through the power of football.

If you want to learn more about how you could work with Bloomsbury Football, please reach out to: 

Izzi, Marketing & Communications Manager: i.chauzy@bloomsburyfootball.com 

Imy, Academy Coordinator & Girls Strategy Champion: i.saunders@bloomsburyfootball.com 

Antony, Director of Fundraising: a.hayman@bloomsburyfootball.com 

We’ll see you on the pitch! 💥