Girls in Football

My daughter came home from school last week excited to tell me about her PE lesson, as she’d been learning how to play football. She couldn’t wait for Daddy to come home from work so that they could go out into the garden and she could show him all she’d learned. It didn’t matter that when the Husband came home he was tired and ready for a sit down, his girl wanted to play football with him so he grabbed his trainers and out they went. I loved watching them and listening to Boo telling her dad how best to kick the ball and control it – he’s only played the game for a few decades after all! It’s a sport that the Husband has always been passionate about, spending many hours of his childhood kicking a ball around. In fact, in pretty much every photo of him from about the age of 3 up until his teens, he has a football with him. He’s now starting to glimpse that enthusiasm in his daughter and I can see how much he enjoys that.

This is why I can get behind SSE’s Dads & Daughters campaign that I shared here last month. It’s great to see how committed SSE are to improving girls only football provisions. The FA SSE Girls Football Participation Programme is now running with more than 60 clubs taking part around the country, increasing the number of girls only football provisions.

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Last month I shared a video with you about Daisy McGregor, an aspiring young footballer suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome, and her father Kenny. It moved me and showed how powerful the sport can be. The latest video features Rob and Flo Allen, Flo’s passion for football and her journey.

Flo began playing football when she was only six years old and since then she has developed into one of England’s top prospects to join the England Women’s Senior team. When Flo was only 16 she had to make the decision to leave home in Norfolk to move to Bristol, joining the ladies team there and chasing her dream of being a professional footballer. Flo is part of the England set-up, currently playing for the U17s with aims of being selected for the U17 England World Cup squad.

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Do take a look at this short video. You can just see Flo’s dedication and enjoyment of the sport, along with Rob’s pride and love for his daughter shining through.

It’s lovely to see how close dad and daughter clearly are, and how supportive he has been of her dream. It’s wonderful to see how well she’s doing.

Here you can find out more about the work SSE are doing in women’s football. SSE is one of the UK’s leading energy companies, supplying energy to around 8.21 million customers throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

You can’t help but be inspired by Flo’s story, can you?

Disclosure: Written in collaboration with SSE

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