FA’s push to give girls equal football access in school brings mixed results

The proportion of schools in England offering girls equal access to football in physical education has climbed considerably since 2020, but not quite as fast as the Football Association had hoped at secondary-school level.

Figures released by the FA on Friday show that 85% of primary schools are affording girls equality of football access in PE lessons, well above the FA’s targets from four years ago, but half of secondary schools do not do so, falling below an ambition to have three-quarters of secondary schools meeting that standard.

The data also showed significant growth in extracurricular football opportunities provided by schools, with 63% of primary and 68% of secondary schools providing equal access to extracurricular football to girls, up from 43% and 36% respectively in 2020, but those fell short of ambitious 90% targets.

It comes as the FA’s four-year women’s and girls’ game strategy, called Inspiring Positive Change, ends and with a new strategy on the horizon. The FA’s data also shows many great successes, not least that the number of women and girls participating in football has increased by 56% in the four-year period.

The number of female referees increased by 113%, rising from 1,477 to 3,139 by 31 July 2024, well above the target of 2,777. Additionally, the number of female coaches being developed rose by 88%.

However, not every coaching target outlined in the FA’s strategy was met. The aim had been to have 75% of manager or head coach roles in the women’s game filled by women, but that figure has dropped to below half. In the Women’s Super League only four of the 12 head coaches are female.

The percentage of coaches across the whole game who engage in at least one of the FA’s “trackable learning opportunities” who are female has dropped from 8% to 6%, rather than climbing to 14% as targeted.