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Since 1993 there has been a remarkable surge in the number of women and girls playing football. According to recent figures there are now over 150,000 females playing football in clubs, leagues and competitions. These figures prove that football now has more female players competing in affiliated competition than any other team sport.

Things have come a long way since the days when football was considered a man’s game and women would never have been seen watching the game let alone playing it. A survey published by Sport England’s Active People showed that in 2008 some 260,000 women and 1.1 million girls play some form of football in England alone. Astonishingly there are over 26 million female soccer players worldwide and of those around 4.1 million are playing affiliated football. Without doubt such figures have grown by a whopping 50%, establishing football as well and truly a game for both sexes.

In addition to the number of women actually playing the game of football there are also over 16,000 females who have successfully attained FA coaching qualifications. Over 1,300 women are now qualified referees, trained by the FA and there are now full-time women’s football development officers employed across the country.

Women’s football has at last become a serious sport or rather a sport for women that is now taken seriously especially by the male counterpart. It has a well regarded player pathway and excellent centres of Excellence in place producing many up and coming national players. There are now 52 licensed FA Centres of Excellence running across England which hold weekly coaching, training and fixtures for skilled players ranging between the ages of 8 to 16.