fbpx Inspiring girls into sport - London Youth

15 July 2019

After the inspirational Women’s World Cup 2019 and some incredible performances from young women at Wimbledon, it feels like female athletes are getting the attention and recognition they deserve.

I saw two great pieces in the run up to the world cup that raise awareness of women’s sporting achievements, push for greater equality and highlight the social pressures women face in becoming serious sporting contenders.

  • Nike’s ‘Dream Crazier’ campaign, narrated by Serena Williams, highlights the criticism of women being too emotional to be taken seriously in sport, while such qualities are often celebrated in their male counterparts. The film champions a host of female athletes at the top of their game from across sports and inspires young women and girls to ‘show what crazy can do’.
  • The other film was Germany’s Women’s World Cup 2019 advert. It highlights that, despite being eight times European Champions, ‘we play for a nation that doesn’t even know our names’. The national squad talk openly about the prejudice they have faced during their careers and the outdated expectations on them to become homemakers, not competitive athletes.

These outdated views continue to hamper young women and girls around the globe. No wonder it’s a challenge to engage young women and girls in grassroots sport, if the women at the top of their game are still being made to feel inferior and emotionally ill-equipped.

London Youth’s sports development programme engaged 2,626 young people last year, 40% of whom were young women and girls. We specifically sought to engage this group because we know the barriers they face.

This film – Watch What I Do – was recently produced by one of our members, Fully Focused. It stars a female-led cast and beautifully captures some of those barriers that knock young women’s confidence in playing sport and stop them from following their dreams.

What better brand to partner with London Youth than Champion as we launch our new women’s sports programme this summer? Through our members, Champion Girls will work with 300 girls aged 11-18 who are currently inactive, encouraging them to get sporty through a range of team activities provided free in their local area. If you’re a member and would like to know more, please do contact our Head of Sports Zoe for more information.

We can all do our bit to champion our young women and girls into sport – for their health, their confidence and self-belief, and their lifelong enjoyment of sport.

– Gill Goodby, Head of Communications


Find out more about our sports programme here.

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