There's Manchester red and Manchester blue, and then there's the community in between, and that's where Abby Corbett steps in. As the founder of Sokker Girls, she has been integral in enabling young girls to enjoy football without limits.
Sokker Girls champions diversity in football in Manchester, providing young girls at every level of the game with the opportunity to have a kit that fits (and that they like), donating to grassroots causes but also teaming up with others in the community to tell young girls that there is a place for them out there on the field.
“It's common sense, isn't it? Don't let your menstrual cycle stop your game,” she told MEN Sport while sipping coffee at a local football venue. “A few months ago we were looking into sanitary towels because when I was a coach we had to carry sanitary products for any child on the pitch. But what if your coach is a man?”
She winced and continued, “At age 11-12 are you really going to approach them? I mean 15-16? No, even a grown woman probably wouldn't want to.
“So what we’ve done is kept the same design but we’ve put a pouch in it at the back that will hide all the sanitary products - the kids can take them to football and no one will see them.”
The former Stockport County player refers to a boot bag designed specifically to help young girls feel comfortable around football. She continued: “We’ve looked everywhere but cannot find a boot bag that has a hidden pouch specifically for that product.
“And the feedback has been absolutely unreal. It's sold really well because the kids just don't want the embarrassment, and why should they stop doing what they want to do just because of that?”
I nodded in agreement as the embarrassing memories raced to the forefront of my mind, something so many players have endured throughout their playing careers. Heck, even the top clubs are changing kits to rid players of their period woes. “We also have a menstrual cycle course to help improve education for girls' football throughout the community," Abby added.
“We're not claiming to turn anyone into a physiotherapist, nurse, doctor, or whatever. What we want to do is provide the knowledge in very basic layman's terms, so the everyday person can understand - the coach, for example."
Highly respected physiotherapist Nikki Pickford heads the educational aspect in and around Stockport to help bridge the gap for coaches, parents and even players who are unaware of the challenges brought by training around the menstrual cycle. “It’s been amazing and Nikki is so knowledgeable having spoken at medical football conferences all over the world, but she makes it all digestible for me and you", Abby said.
“In the early 90s I used to play, but obviously there were no facilities for girls. Until one team came into my secondary school and did a girls-only training session which was so unheard of, and so I ended up going to Stockport County for a few years.
“It [Sokker Girls] has always been in the back of my mind but I've never had the guts to get it going until very early last year I just thought 'I'm going to go for it'.
“I was watching the Africa Cup of Nations because I love their kits, and then I saw something that was spelt S-O-K-K-E-R. It's African for football, so that's where the name came from and then we just progressed from there.”
Abby added: “The training jersey was the first product. It's recycled from water bottles. A lot of thought went into that because of the design - we literally asked the kids what designs do they like. We then progressed to hoodies, socks, headbands and boot bags.
“Every item we sell we donate a pound back into grassroots for girls, but we don't advertise it per se. For example, we’ve sponsored a home and away kit for a girls' U11 team. And got involved with other fantastic businesses that are helping cut costs and get kids playing football around Manchester. Including one woman who has set up an operation to swap boots - cutting the cost of buying a new pair every time their child grows out of them.
“This one lady has a boot collection so it's actually here at [Football] Fives. She sets a table up and the deal is if you put a pair of boots on, you’re more than welcome to take one off", Abby added.
“So we teamed up and I gave her money for shin pads because if any of my girls were caught training or playing without shin pads they had to come off.
“Together, we’re making sure each kid can play with the correct, safe equipment. It's the little things like that which we get involved with.”
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