Cambridgeshire Game On Girls Football Activator Conference a Huge Success
As part of their role as strategic leads for the Barclays Girls Football School Partnerships programme, the Hunts School Sports Partnership and South Cambs School Sports Partnership recently hosted a Game On Girls Football Activator Conference for secondary schools within the two districts. 70 girls in Years 7 to 9, from 6 secondary schools attended the event on Friday 3rd March.
The Barclays Game On Go Lead programme is overseen by the Youth Sport Trust in partnership with England Football and is designed to support secondary schools to create engaging, meaningful and enjoyable girls’ football opportunities in their schools as they work towards ensuring all girls have equal access to football in schools.
Through Barclays Game On schools have the opportunity to identify and select a group of girls to become Girls’ Football Activators with the idea that they become advocates and change makers for girls’ football in their school and help to inspire and influence new and different girls in their school to get involved in football.
The conference provided schools who had signed up to the programme for 2022-23 the opportunity to select and bring 12 Girls Football Activators to St Neots Town Football Club for a day of workshops and activities designed to empower them to be able to go away and work together in their school to design, create and deliver football activities for their peers. It was also an opportunity for the girls to be inspired and to come together with like-minded girls from other schools to share ideas and discuss what changes they would like to see in their school.
The conference started by introducing the girls to the national Game On programme and the FAs vision to ensure ‘Every girl has equal access to football in schools by 2024’. They discussed what changes they would like to see in their schools as well as well as what motivates young people to be active and identified some of the barriers that need to be overcome. They then had the chance to develop their delivery skills with a practical session, supported by Huntingdonshire FA before finishing the day by finalising the target group of girls they want to engage at their school, the changes they want to make and how they plan to do so.
Doug Finlayson, Strategic Lead for Hunts SSP said,
“It was fantastic to hear and discuss what the girls would like change at their school and the amazing activities they would like to plan. We look forward to seeing the girls grow as advocates for girls football within their school and see how they implement their ideas to grow engagement and work towards equal access to football in schools for girls.”
