Girls United have teamed up with Footy Addicts to make football more accessible for women and non-binary players in South London. This partnership aims to provide more opportunities for adults to enjoy recreational football while supporting the next generation.
Champions of Gender Equality in Football
Founded in 2017, Girls United has been at the forefront of promoting gender equality in football. Operating in South London and Mexico, the club focuses on empowering girls and young women aged 5 to 18 through the sport. With over 4500 players in 32 locations, Girls United not only offers football training but also nurtures leadership qualities and challenges societal stereotypes, ensuring that their impact extends beyond the field.
Making Casual Football Truly Inclusive
Since 2013, Footy Addicts has transformed the way casual football players connect and play, by simplifying finding and organising local football games, turning empty pitches into buzzing football hubs and making the sport accessible to everyone. In 2023, their community grew to 215,000 registered players creating over 50,000 opportunities to play inclusive football every month. Footy Addict games have always been co-ed and open to players of all abilities. Literally, everyone 16+ is welcome.
What's the Goal?
The partnership between Girls United and Footy Addicts is fuelled by shared objectives.
Inclusivity and Accessibility in football: Central to this partnership is the goal to make football even more accessible. So, it's a chance to create space where underrepresented groups feel welcome to play.
Community Building: We want to foster a sense of community, where participants not only play together but also get to know each other by meeting regularly.
All about that healthy life: We all know running around the pitch is a solid way to stay in shape, but it's the laughs, the saves, the near misses, and the ‘what a ball!’ moments that really boost our moods. Most importantly, we want everyone to enjoy the game and keep the good energy that comes with it.
A Bright Future for Inclusive Football
The partnership kicks off with weekly casual football games at JAGS Sports Club in Dulwich, welcoming women and non-binary players of all skill levels, especially beginners. These sessions, held every Thursday from 7-8 PM, are an opportunity to connect and grow an inclusive football community.
The initiative extends beyond the pitch, with plans to create more games and raise funds to support the growth of women's football while nurturing the next generation of female players.
‘The Footy Addicts community is really proud to collaborate with Girls United to build happier, healthier, and more active communities. Our partnership with Girls United underscores our commitment to providing more opportunities for not only adults but also for our youth to stay active. Over the past years, Girls United has been doing an amazing job in empowering young women, which aligns perfectly with the values and mission of Footy Addicts.’ - Konstantinos Gkortsilas, Founder of Footy Addicts
Girls United Global Marketing & Comms Manager, Josh Emerson added: "We're very excited to be working with Footy Addicts who share in our values of providing more opportunities to football for women and non-binary players. With the majority of our work focusing on girls and young adults, we're looking forward to growing our South London community to include adult players and lean on Footy Addicts expertise in this area to encourage more people to give football a go in a relaxed and inclusive environment!"