The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has teamed up with Manchester City legend Karen Bardsley and the FA to call on schools across the city-region to do more to help girls get into football.
They will be writing to all schools in Greater Manchester urging them to offer at least two hours of PE per week to girls, including more football sessions. Their call has been backed by Manchester United and Lionesses striker Alessia Russo, who scored four goals at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 this summer.
Nationally, only 63 per cent of schools offer girls equal access to football in PE lessons, meaning more than a third are not getting the same opportunity to play the sport in PE as boys. In Greater Manchester, 906 of 1,271 schools are linked to a Barclays and FA Girls’ Football School Partnership by England Football, through which they have access to training, resources and support for girls’ football.
