Over a hundred girls aged between seven and nine descended on a CV Life venue this week for an after-school six-a-side football tournament.
18 teams from schools across Coventry attended the event last Tuesday (6 December) at Centre AT7 on pitches provided by partner company Goals.
Girls from Years 3 and 4 braved the cold to take part in dozens of friendly yet competitive football matches, watched by an army of parents who came to support their children.
With results taken into account, the next tournament is due to take place in the new year and will see teams matched against one another based on how well they did on this occasion.
The event, run in with the support of Goals and Barclays, was overseen by CV Life’s own community officer and girls football lead Nathan Blundell.
He said: “We’ve had girls from schools across Coventry playing eight minutes games, some have played before, some it’s the first time they’ve taken part in in this kind of thing.
“The standard has been good, we’ve had some big results and some close games, it was pretty competitive.
“The number of girls taking part in football has jumped up in recent years, with the successes of England’s Lionesses. It really shows the power of sport, the power of football – girls don’t just have to play netball.”
Discussing ways to keep girls playing sport, Nathan added: “Fun is a huge part of everything when it comes to sport – if you are having fun, you’re more likely to continue playing.
“So while it has been a good standard, it’s more important the girls enjoy themselves. They’ve all done that today, it’s been really friendly and energetic, all the teachers have got on and all the players have shaken hands.
“Now I look forward to the next tournament and I just hope it’s a bit warmer!”
Article written by Danny Thompson.