On 23 April, BMS hosted the flagship event celebrating the launch of The Football Association’s (FA) Girls’ Football Week 2018 which runs until 29 April, with events being held across the country. Girls from years 5 and 6 were joined by students from other local schools and England Lioness, Laura Bassett, to take part in an afternoon of training sessions and football fun.
To inspire girls aged 5 -11 across all levels of ability to play football and get active, The FA partnered with Disney for an added sprinkle of magic and storytelling!
The afternoon began with introductory drills after which the students circulated around various stations to learn more and improve their football skills. They were then taught about the rules and sportsmanship of football before splitting into teams to compete in a friendly football festival. Bassett, who has 61 caps for England, joined in and some of the girls even had the chance to play with her.
Alex Tate, Bedford Modern School’s Headmaster, said: “We were delighted to host this fantastic event. With football being relatively new to the vast majority of our girls this occasion provided the perfect introduction to the game and it was a pleasure to see so many girls from other local schools join us for the afternoon to play some football and have fun at the same time.
“Last year we introduced girls’ football as a trial for a small number of year groups in the games curriculum for the summer term. This year we have extended our trial by launching girls’ football and girls’ cricket across both Senior and Junior Schools. They are two of the fastest growing professional women’s sports in the country and players like Laura Bassett are excellent role models.”
Girls’ Football Week is a key initiative in The FA’s Gameplan for Growth which aims to double participation of girls in the sport by 2020.
