‘We are here to stay’: Women’s grassroots team calls for equal access to community playgrounds | Football news

A group of women’s and non-binary football teams have launched a campaign calling for equal access to the pitch and organization of community spaces.

The Equal Playing Fields initiative was launched in December 2024 by 30 women’s and non-binary football clubs, as they continue to struggle to find regular training facilities.

This comes as interest in amateur football among this group has reached an all-time high following the England women’s national team’s victory in the 2022 European Championship.

East London club Enjoy FC led the charge after their stadium booking was canceled mid-season.

said Eli Fergus, founder of the club Sky Sports News This was not an isolated incident, and several clubs were affected.

“On the same day we were supposed to arrive and play, we were kicked out of the stadium without any notice and replaced by the corporate league, leaving us without a field to play on,” she said.

“We found that this was not an isolated incident and that this has been happening for years. Five clubs have come forward to report this issue.

“This turns out to be a huge issue for female, non-binary and inclusive clubs across the UK.

“It’s heartbreaking. This has been very disappointing, and it’s very sad to hear other clubs coming forward and doing the same thing. We thought this was going to be an isolated incident, and it turns out it wasn’t.”

“Men’s football is the priority, but we are not going anywhere.”

Virgos feel that men’s football from top to bottom has been prioritized for too long, but teams like Enjoy FC are only growing and there is a huge opportunity to support these groups.

“We’re here to stay and we’re not going anywhere. Men’s soccer has always been a priority in the school from a young age right through to grassroots level. Right now, even at the elite level, you can see that on a daily basis,” she said.

“We advocate for regulation and policy in holding organizations, national government bodies and the company accountable.

“We want to ensure that private companies are not able to operate unregulated, and that they are basically allowed to do what they want to do in public places and in schools, because we are being mistreated and we are trying to point out that as a problem.”

Goal Diggers FC committee member Liz Ward added that it was “extremely important” that members of gender minorities have access to the pitch, especially at a time when more women are playing football.

“We’re coming out of a renaissance in women’s football, aren’t we? We want more women’s teams, and yet women are being denied the opportunity to have some of these spaces at that time,” she said.

“So what we’re asking is that these courts that we see in our areas, in our neighborhoods, have equal access for the men’s teams and the women’s teams to use the courts at their desired times.”

She added that venue providers must take more accountability and are in a position to “change the fabric of grassroots sport”.

“I see it as a privilege to be able to open these courts to different groups and to people who have not been able to play on these courts.”

The Lionesses changed the fabric of grassroots football

Sukhara Goodall, who has played professionally in America and England, is supporting the clubs in this campaign.

She was discovered as a teenager playing football at grassroots level, but has noticed a change in women’s football since England won the European Championship in 2022.

“The game has changed dramatically. In my day, you barely got paid to play and things like that. It’s so great to see women’s football growing so much and expanding and what the Lionesses are achieving as well.”

“And that has to extend to the grassroots. Again, grassroots football is the heartbeat. The teams I work with are the people who keep Premier League football going.

“They love the sport so much and have so much passion for it. We need to support them, because, again, they are a big community in women’s football.”

“The root of the problem lies in the systematic lack of government investment.”

Hire A Pitch and Play Five Aside are two of the largest pitch providers in the UK.

CEO Nilesh Pandit said Sky Sports News: “As an organization with deep roots in the industry since 2010, we deeply understand and empathize with the frustration surrounding unequal access to playgrounds.

“However, it is important for all communities to recognize that many clubs, leagues and private recruitment companies have been in operation for more than a decade, exacerbating existing challenges.

“The root of the problem lies in a systemic lack of government investment in multi-sport and 3G facilities across the UK, as well as insufficient funding for grass pitches.

“The increased demand, especially from non-binary and female teams who have seen significant growth in participation over the past three years, has highlighted this shortage even further.

“We strongly call for increased investment in sports facilities and urge the government to prioritize the creation of community-focused spaces over the continued construction of apartments and high-rise buildings on every available site.

“Our lack of facilities is highlighted compared to other countries like the UAE that continue to invest and nurture development.”