Central Park Allstars, a local grassroots club in the London Borough of Newham and affiliated to Essex County FA, are providing opportunities for young girls to participate in the game and have an environment that hasn’t historically been there within the local community.

The London borough of Newham has typically had very little, if any opportunity for girls to play football outside of school in an all-girls environment. But local grassroots club, Central Park Allstars, with the support of its volunteers and the Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships (BGFSP) in Newham, are ensuring that local girls do now have the opportunity to play outside of school in a safe and fun environment.

Thanks to the great work by the volunteers at Central Park Allstars, Suhail Vawda and Deva Sunasse, partnering with Anne-Marie Wright from Newham SSP who leads on the BGSFP has enabled them to offer young girls from Newham a pathway into grassroots football outside of a comprehensive schools’ programme.

The great work that is being done by Newham SSP, Anne-Marie White and Patrick Hector, is allowing young girls to experience the game within a school environment and develop a love for the game. This then transpires with Central Park Allstars who are able to provide and deliver opportunities that want to begin or continue playing outside of school.

Central Park Allstars have set up an England Football Squad Girls programme which caters for girls aged 12+ who are keen to experience football outside the school environment. They have also recently completed a Just Play application to increase involvement from Women aged 16+. It's a great time to get involved!

In order for more clubs to offer female opportunities, there is a real drive to increase female coaches and ambassadors. Having this exposure and visibility will only increase the profile of the female volunteer. If you haven’t yet seen our Female Football Community which aims to bring together aspiring females to volunteer, click here.

If you require further details related to this article, please contact jake.ling@essexfa.com