An interview with King’s Civic Challenge participant Laura Walmsley, part of the Girls United team, featured on the King’s College London website.
“I wanted to meet like-minded members of the King’s community and take part in a project that would create positive social impact. As a master’s student on a one-year course, I wanted to contribute to some of the wider outreach work King’s does and gain valuable experiences beyond my academic study.”
“Girls United are bang on what I’m passionate about: empowering women and girls to develop skills that can breed success, in football or elsewhere.”
Girls United feature in new documentary film by COPA90 and Nike ‘The Architects of New Football’ as pioneers of inclusive football spaces.
“The idea at Girls United is that I’ll go to coaching sessions and work with them. It’s about giving girls skills and confidence.
“It’s super-important for girls to feel they can achieve anything. They have two really good hubs in Mexico and south London. We’ve had a few conversations about Scotland – it would be great to get something going in Dunfermline. I would love to be a part of that.”
A lo largo de cuatro años, Romina Calatayud Martínez ha trabajado con niñas y jóvenes de Bacalar y Chetumal con el objetivo de impulsar el fútbol femenil, promoviendo la equidad de género en el deporte y generar más oportunidades para las deportistas.
Desde hace un año, el Club Girls United arribó a Quintana Roo con el objetivo de promover el Fútbol Femenil, y brindar oportunidades a las niñas y jóvenes que quieren sobresalir eb este deporte.
According to the Women’s Sport Foundation: by the age of 14, girls are dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys. The foundation identified several key factors behind this alarming statistic.
Social stigmas and issues of safety are severe hindrances to keeping young girls involved in physical activity.
There is also a huge gap in opportunities across genders. This problem begins in schools, where there are less chances for girls to be involved in team sport.
When they search elsewhere for this infrastructure, they often discover it’s too costly. If it even exists in the first place. Involvement in sport comes with a variety of health benefits, both mental and physical. This divide in accessibility needs to be eradicated.
To help tackle this issue, non-profit organisation Girls United has partnered with Nike. Together, they have launched a new initiative across London primary schools.
Love the Game aims to give girls, regardless of their background, a chance to play and fall in love with football. Through playing the sport, they will develop active lifestyles and feel empowered beyond the pitch.
Romina Calatayud, Founder and CEO of Girls United, explains the club’s ethos and what has led to their decision to begin the Black Coaches Matter programme. Read the full story on the London FA website.
The Manchester City forward and Girls United ambassador hopes to highlight the game’s physical and social benefits. She has tried to make the most of the enforced break. “A real positive of lockdown is that players have had a bit of time to reflect and take a minute, without thinking about the game at the weekend or the next training session, and think about what’s important. It has for me anyway,” she says.
She has acted quickly. First, by becoming the 150th player to sign up to Common Goal, the organisation that commits players to giving 1% of their incomes to sporting charities. Now, she is being unveiled as a global ambassador for the innovative Girls United, which runs football programmes for girls in south London and Bacalar, Mexico, but with the wider remit of empowering girls with the confidence to embrace opportunities off the pitch.
Romina Calatayud, directora de Girls United dialogó en una amena charla con Fémina Fútbol
Antes de empezar, quisiera remontarme a una columna de un periodista colombiano que alguna vez escribió lo siguiente. “Una mujer que le guste el fútbol da miedo. A las mujeres con las que estuve las escogí siempre bajo los mismos parámetros: pelo negro, estatura media, buen cuerpo y unas completas ignorantes en el fútbol. Ver los partidos era mi tarea”.
Lee el artículo completo por DANIEL CHALELA
Founded on International Women’s Day in 2017 by 25-year-old Romina Calatayud, Girls United now has bases in England and Mexico and coaches from over 30 countries. “We started with about 100 girls in the southeast Mexican town of Bacalar, but now England is our global hub… We always look to go beyond the tactical or technical and give both players and coaches the tools to pursue life skills – and ultimately their dreams. We want happy footballers, but more importantly confident girls and women.”
Read the full article on the FA website written by Ben Jacobs
Po-Nad-To Matters is showing ordinary people giving extraordinary support to their communities and creative children with great potential.