On Saturday 9 March, at Powerleague Mill Hill in North London, Girls United held the sixth edition of their annual International Women’s Day tournament which with over 300 participants, became the UK’s largest grassroots women’s tournament. The event helped to raise £10,000 for the next generation of women and girls in football through Girls United’s year round programmes in London and Mexico.
The tournament, sponsored by Sony’s Sports Businesses, Hawk-Eye Innovations, Pulselive & Beyond Sports for the third year running, was designed to celebrate women in football and to support Girls United’s grassroots programmes that provide girls with opportunities to succeed on and off the pitch.
Powerleague, the official venue sponsors, hosted the event at their Mill Hill facilities in North London, with 42 teams split across 3 categories based on level of experience ranging from complete beginners to semi-professional players.
The event was hosted by football broadcaster and journalist, Flo Lloyd-Hughes, who also hosts women’s football podcast Counter Pressed and features on Ian Wright’s podcast, Wrighty’s House.
Following opening speeches, matches were quickly underway with grassroots teams coming together from across London to play in 89 games across 6 pitches, each sponsored and named after supporting organisations: Hawk-Eye Innovations, Pulselive, Beyond Sports, The Sports Effect, Minute Media and 90Min.
Common Goal were also present on the day alongside partners Minute Media and 90min, as sponsors of the tournament’s intermediate category, with teams competing to win the Common Goal Cup.
Off pitch activities included a VAR experience provided by Sony’s Sport Businesses which gave participants a unique insight into the process of VAR decisions and the technology involved. Raffle tickets were also sold throughout the day with over 30 prizes up for grabs including official Lioness merchandise provided by Nike London and signed boots from Girls United’s Global Ambassador and Real Madrid & Scotland star, Caroline Weir.
As games came to a close, Lush Lyfe, Football Beyond Borders and Rainbow Rebels were crowned as winners of their respective categories and presented with their prizes which included tickets to Chelsea WFC and Baller FC’s exclusive pre-match event at Stamford Bridge for the UEFA Women’s Champions League Quarter Final return leg against Ajax, as well as the opportunity to design a brand new Nike kit provided by event partners Kitlocker.
Category runners-up, Chirps FC, Baesianz FC and Nets FC each received tickets to newly released COPA 71 provided by Dogwoof.
Josh Emerson, Girls United Global Marketing Manager, said: “We’re so proud of what this tournament has come to represent for the London grassroots community, with teams from across the capital and beyond seeing this as the perfect way to show their support for the next generation of girls and women in football.
“Not only is this event an important moment for us to raise necessary funds to continue to deliver our programmes, and we’re incredibly grateful to have been able to reach our target of £10,000 this year, but it’s also an opportunity to raise awareness and shine a light on the work that needs to be done at grassroots level.
“Thankfully we’ve been able to count on organisations such as Sony’s Sport Businesses and Powerleague, whose commitment to the women’s game and its growth have enabled this event to grow year on year, with more teams, more players and ultimately more impact. I’m personally excited to continue to work with our partners to explore how we can bridge the gap between the elite level of the game and the communities in which we work.”
Masuma Rahman-Sheikh, Senior Project Manager and ED&I Ambassador at Pulselive, commented: “We are thrilled with the success of the tournament and the incredible turnout it achieved.
“This tournament was a powerful celebration of diversity and inclusion, in line with one of our key pillars of being an “Employee First” organisation. We look forward to continuing to support female athletes and inspiring the next generation to break barriers in football.
“Thank you to Girls United for their partnership and continuous commitment to the women’s game.”
Christian Rose, CEO for Powerleague added: ‘’It was a pleasure to support Girls United on their IWD 2024 tournament for the third consecutive year. We are committed tosupporting the growth of the women’s game by providing safe and accessible spaces for women and girls of all ages, abilities and backgrounds’’
The annual International Women’s Day tournament is one of several celebrations that took place across Girls United’s two locations of London and Mexico.
On Saturday 2 March, 160 females took part in an International Women’s Day Youth Festival in partnership with Alleyn’s School in Dulwich, London. Players had the opportunity to take part in a “Play Like a Girl” drop in session or an U13 tournament. Former England and Chelsea goalkeeper, Carly Telford, in attendance to meet the players and talk about the importance of having spaces available for girls to be active and play football.
On the same day, across the Atlantic in Mexico City, over 100 players took part in another Girls United International Women’s Day youth tournament with 6 teams from across the capital invited to take part and illustrate the demand for more opportunities for girls in football.
Throughout the month, girls attending partner schools in South London will enjoy active workshops aimed at redefining female role models through our ‘Love The Game’ programme powered by Nike.
Wednesday 8 March, International Women’s Day itself, also marked Girls United’s 7th Anniversary. Since launching in 2017, over 150 Girls United coaches have provided 6,000+ hours of sessions to approximately 5,000 participants in London and Mexico.
