It’s a truth universally acknowledged that being a young girl can be tough – especially in the 21st century. Whether it’s body image pressures, friendship challenges or the stress of social media comments, young women today have to deal with a lot.

But if there’s one thing that can help young girls navigate these challenges, it’s playing a team sport – especially football. That’s according to a new report from Barclays, which found a whopping 80% of young girls who play football feel more confident because they play team sports, and almost half (48%) feel more confident than girls their age who don’t play.

The Here For Every Goal report, which reviews pre-existing research in light of recent growth across elite women’s football and girls’ grassroots access, found that football not only gives girls a space to excel, have fun and feel free but also helps them to feel more socially connected.  

And playing football in early life can also give girls the necessary skills to face challenges in adulthood. According to the Barclays report, a recent study of female business leaders found that 94% of those at senior executive level played sport when they were younger, with 72% believing that sport can help accelerate a woman’s career.

While, in past years, the number of girls able to access these benefits has been limited by a lack of access and visible role models and gendered beliefs, the growth of the elite women’s game – and the sponsorship it now attracts – has helped more girls than ever to enjoy football.

In 2023, the government committed to providing equal access to school PE sports for boys and girls following an open letter from the Lionesses. And thanks to Barclays Girls’ Football School Partnerships (BGFSP), which help teachers to lead girls’ football lessons in PE or games classes, a massive 19,992 schools now offer equal access. In 2019, that number was only 3,000. 

Dr Ali Bowles, a women’s sport expert and senior lecturer at Nottingham Trent University who contributed to the report, said the amount of progress that’s been made is cause for celebration.

“As the game has grown in popularity, it’s clear that having visible role models is central to encouraging girls to participate in the sport, which can bring a range of benefits, such as increasing self-confidence, developing social skills, and providing a sense of community among girls,” she said.

“Compared to twenty years ago, the progress seen in the sport should be celebrated – especially when we consider that a 13-year-old girl has only ever lived in a time where professional women’s football exists. However, there is still work to be done to normalise girls’ involvement in the game and make football truly accessible for women and girls.”

Of course, there’s still a long way to go to ensure the number of girls reaping the benefits of sport continues to grow. Just this week, a report from the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) into the rising number of ACL injuries in women’s football highlighted a lack of appropriate kit as a barrier faced by both elite and grassroots players, concluding that more needs to be done to ensure girls feel confident and comfortable in their kit (for example, by providing period-conscious shorts).  

Last year, a survey by the Youth Sport Trust charity found that the number of girls who say they enjoy physical education in school has dropped over the past six years due to a lack of confidence and period-related issues, with less than two-thirds (64%) of girls in England saying they liked taking part in PE lessons compared to 86% of boys.

For now, however, it at least seems like the growth of women’s football is helping to inspire a new generation of girls to give football a go. This year, the BBC’s 500 Words report, which analyses the language used in the creative writing stories submitted as part of the BBC 500 Words competition, saw a significant increase in the use of the words ‘Lioness’ and ‘Mary’, demonstrating the impact the England national team and individual players like Mary Earps have had on young people. 

Indeed, the report showed that the word Lioness was used over a third more than in 2020, with over half of those uses being a reference to football.  

Images: Getty