Hampshire’s Gameplan For Growth
Launched in March 2017, The FA’s Gameplan For Growth strategy for women and girls' football pledged to tackle ambitious targets to double participation and fanbase and create a high-performance system and world-class talent pipeline for England teams.
After four seasons the strategy is now concluding, and we start with a look at the journey to double participation.
Over the last few years, Hampshire FA has seen a fantastic increase in female participation in the grassroots game. Clubs, teams, coaches, players, volunteers and referees have seen a growth in numbers since 2016:
Female teams:
2016 – 177
2020 – 308 (which is 5552 players!)
Find Your Feet
Not only this, Hampshire FA is proud to have set up 8 Find Your Feet sessions across the county.
Developed in 2018, Find Your Feet is aimed at encouraging women aged 18+ to get involved in football, this can be an introduction to football or a return to the beautiful game!
Coaching:
The 2019/20 season introduced Female-Only coaching opportunities to support women on their coaching journeys.
This formed new opportunities to create environments where women feel encouraged, comfortable and supported through their introduction to coaching (Female-Only Workshops) or their continuation of their learning (Female-Only Level 1 in Coaching Football, Female-Only Level 2 in Coaching Football and Female-Only Referee Courses).
The courses proved to be popular and in demand!
Female Coaching Numbers:
Year 1 – 2017/2018
Level 1 in Coaching Football – 44
Level 2 in Coaching Football – 7
UEFA B Course – 3
Year 2 - 2018/2019
Level 1 in Coaching Football – 69
Level 2 in Coaching Football - 2
UEFA B Course – 2
Year 3 - 2019/2020
Level 1 in Coaching Football – 61
Level 2 in Coaching Football – 21
UEFA B Course – 2
Refereeing:
This season saw the first Female-Only Referee Course in Hampshire!
20 female referees started and completed their course at Stoneham Lane Football Complex. Many of these newly qualified referees had the chance to referee in the first weekend after completing the course on the Eastleigh and District Mini-Soccer League! Feedback from clubs and the referees themselves was very positive with many wanting to progress further.
A further 13 female referees completed their training with Hampshire FA during the current season, with 81 now registered in Hampshire.
When the season returns and it is safe to do so, we will be looking to schedule another Female-Only Referee course!
Fan base:
Not only is participation in the game growing but we have also seen an increase in attendance of football matches in our county!
In 2018, the Lionesses played Wales in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifier at St Mary’s Stadium, the home of Southampton Football Club.
The game saw 25,603 fans packed into St Mary’s supporting the national side!
A National Level:
Check out the links below to see how the Gameplan for Growth has had an impact on a national level:
Click to find out more about:
Girls’ football in Hampshire