International Women's Day Football Festival at Alleyn's

This weekend, Girls United FA, a football club dedicated to empowering girls in South London, will host the first International Women’s Day Youth Festival at Alleyn's, supported by sports and community partners Nike, Kitlocker, Streetgames and Active Communities Network.

The day will start with a ‘Play like a Girl’ free taster session, which is open to girls from across South London aged 5-11 years old, followed by the U13 festival tournament involving local primary schools and local grassroots clubs.

Abigail Ingram, Girls United London Manager, says,

'Our mission at Girls United FA is to provide opportunity and access to girls from the local community to explore football at all levels, giving them confidence, community and leadership skills.

'Our long-term partnership with Alleyn’s School has been pivotal in helping Girls United FA grow and deliver impactful programmes across South London.'

Since our partnership began in 2019, Girls United FA and Alleyn’s have shared 200 hours of activity as well as 83 training sessions and fixtures. The partnership has also seen Girls United FA work with the Alleyn’s Sports Academy for joint training sessions and matches, which have reached a total of 157 girls.

Alleyn’s School Director of Sport, Ryan Shedwick, says,

'The tournament is a brilliant opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Girls United FA and to thank them for allowing Alleyn’s to work so closely with them.

'Significant progress has been made in promoting women’s sport in recent years, but girls’ grass root football has a long way to go before it is equal to boys' football. We share a commitment with Girls United FA to breaking down gender stereotypes, providing opportunities for all girls to get involved in football from an early age, and ensuring no girl should ever face a barrier to participate in Football.'