The Women’s EURO2022 Competition, as if you didn’t know already (!) is being held in England, in July 2022, after being moved from 2021, due to Coronavirus. Since November 2019, Legacy Groups in each Host City have been working hard to produce Legacy Plans with the FA, Sport England, Clubs and local partners, to increase participation and provide more opportunities for women and girls than ever before. This will provide a positive and sustainable future for women’s and girl’s football in England, in line with the FA’s 2020 – 2024 Strategy – Inspiring Positive Change. Each Host City has their own Legacy booklet which aligns with the National Legacy booklet.
The Legacy booklet for Brighton & Hove and Sussex can be viewed here: UEFA Women EURO 2022 – Host City legacy BRIGHTON and HOVE
Crawley Old Girls is privileged to be a part of the Legacy Group for Host City, Brighton & Hove, and Sussex. Over the last year or so, we have been involved in plans which will increase participation and coaching in Women’s Recreational Football. One of the exciting parts about the National Legacy Plan is that Sport England has given £1M of funding to the Host Cities for Women’s Recreational Football and included in this funding, seven Women’s Recreational Football Officers are now employed to grow the game in their Host City and surrounding areas. This is a great step forward and all the WRFOs are detailed below.
We are delighted to be working with Justine Thomson, who is the WRFO for Brighton & Hove and Sussex. Justine will be working for Albion in the Community with Sussex FA to create more opportunities for women 16+ to play football for fun, fitness and friendship, in Sussex.
On May 19th, the Legacy Launch was held in each Host City and we were able to enjoy an afternoon on the lawns of Brighton Pavilion, in what was a surprisingly sunny afternoon! Local radio and TV were in attendance, as well as Kelly Simmons, FA Director of the Women’s Professional Game, Zahra Khamisa – FA City Partnership Development (Diversity & Inclusion) and Polly Bancroft – General Manager, BHAFC Women, along with Sussex County FA, local partners and schools.
Brighton & Hove will be hosting 3 games during the Tournament. The first on 11th July will be an England game, with the other 2 games being a Group A game on Friday 15th July and a Quarter Final on Wednesday 20th July. You can sign up to register for ticketing information here: https://www.thefa.com/competitions/uefa-womens-euro-2022/tickets
During the day, the COGS had some fun with the BLAGSS, under the watchful eye of Karen Dare, in playing some fun football, while a few gave interviews about how football isn’t just for younger girls/women.
The ITV Meridian interview with James Dunham was shown on the News as part of the Launch and can be seen here: https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2021-05-19/womens-euro-tournament-aims-to-leave-lasting-legacy-in-the-south
As part of the Legacy, COGS will be holding a National Women’s Recreational Festival in 2022 and further details will be announced in the coming months. Watch this space!
We also met Jody East, who is the Creative Programming Curator at the Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust, and there will be an exhibition called “Goal Power! Women and Football” which will celebrate the power of women’s football. It will highlight the close link between football and feminism and share stories of those who have fought for equal rights through football, from the suffragettes to women and girls today. Jody will be making a visit to COGS and may even bring her boots! The exhibition will run from 18th June – 2nd October 2022.
Keep an eye out over the next year of all the events being organised and, in the meantime, we encourage any woman who has never played football before to think about having a go and not to worry about not knowing anything about football or not being fit enough. It’s a great way to get active with like-minded women and we couldn’t recommend it enough!
If you want to know more about #WEURO2022 you can go to The FA’s website and find all the information here: https://www.thefa.com/competitions/uefa-womens-euro-2022