Project aim
AFC Stoke Newington will provide women in north London the opportunity to play football on a weekly basis.
About the project
I work at Stoke Newington School and am proud to run all five girls football teams. Over the past few years these teams have been very successful, winning borough, county and national competitions. This year alone we have played at White Hart Lane and The Emirates stadium winning London Cups at two age categories. We also won The Premier League Schools Tournament which involved over 1,500 schools.
Unfortunately, the pattern in previous years has been for many girls to cease playing football once leaving school. I would like to tackle this by setting up a team to allow our female footballers to continue playing post 16. The club will focus on ex-Stoke Newington pupils initially but will also be open to women across Hackney and North London.
The profile of women's football in rapidly growing and the number of girls playing at school is increasing every year. National figures, however, show two million fewer women taking part in regular sport on a weekly basis compared to men. The aim of A.F.C Stoke Newington will be to provide women of all ages and abilities with the opportunity to continue playing competitive football post 16.
The team will play in the Greater London Women's League on Sundays and the Whittington Park 7-a-side league during the week. The team will also train once a week.
The aim is for the club to be as inclusive as possible with regards to subs and signing on fees, but affiliation to the leagues, hire of facilities, referees, equipment and kit all comes at a cost. My hope is that the local community and those passionate about the development of womens football will help play a role in the raising of these funds.
My long term plan is to develop multiple teams and also set up youth teams to increase female participation in Football.