Sse Reveals Shift In Girls’ Footie Views

Positive shifts in parental attitudes towards women’s football are encouraging more girls than ever to the sport, according to new research from sponsor SSE.

The energy firm, the title partner of the Women’s FA Cup and the Scottish Women’s Cup, has released the results of its first ‘SSE Girls Sport Participation Survey’ ahead of the final round of qualifying for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The survey found that younger parents in particular are leading the way in promoting football to their daughters. Almost four in ten dads under 40 said they would take their daughter to a professional match.

Other key findings of the study, which set out to explore parental attitudes towards girls’ sport from a range of perspectives, included a growing enthusiasm for women’s football as a career choice. Dads were generally more encouraging of a career in football for their daughters, with younger parents more comfortable than their older peers.

Mums were more likely to believe that a career in football should be achievable for their daughters, with younger mums the most likely of all to disagree with the statement that ‘football is a sport for boys’.

Eight in ten of the parents surveyed cited teamwork and fitness as the key benefits to girls’ participation in football, with 5-7 the optimum age range for girls to take up the sport. 

Commenting on the findings, Colin Banks, SSE head of sponsorship and reward, said: “At SSE we’re passionate about women’s football and the growth of girls participating in the beautiful game, as demonstrated by our longstanding partnerships with the FA and Scottish FA and our many grassroots programmes.

“Our first ever SSE Girls Sport Participation survey is a powerful indication that this passion is shared by hundreds of thousands of parents across the country. It has revealed a step change in the attitudes parents have towards football in the context of their daughters playing, watching and working in the sport and significantly this is being driven by a new generation of younger mums and dads.

“There is a tremendous opportunity for us all to work together to further establish football to be as accessible and fun for young people as we can, removing any barriers which girls may have faced in the past. Parents can be a hugely positive force behind this and SSE has a genuine desire and commitment to support them in helping their daughters enjoy football and all the benefits that brings.”

Joe FitzPatrick, minister for public Health, sport and wellbeing, said: “It is encouraging to see the increased enthusiasm of parents for their daughters to participate in sport generally and in football in particular. The benefits of sport and physical activity are clear through improved physical and mental health and confidence.

“The Scottish Government strongly supports women and girls’ football, and I am determined to see the game grow at all levels. I particularly want to see more girls playing. However, there continue to be challenges, particularly in encouraging older girls to take up football or continue in the sport. We will carefully consider these findings with the Scottish FA and other partners and ensure we do all we can to get more girls playing.”

Gavin Newlands, SNP Westminster Spokesperson for sport, added: “This is greatly encouraging research suggesting more girls are playing football than ever before, in large part due to much greater enthusiasm from parents for their daughters taking up the game.

“There is clear evidence that young girls aged 15 and under are less likely to take part in physical activities than boys and therefore we all need to do more to encourage girls to become involved in sports like football.

“Becoming active and involved in sport helps to improve your health and fitness levels. Parents have an important role in encouraging children to become involved in sport, not only making sure they enjoy the full range of benefits that sport brings, but because it’s fun!”

Baroness Sue Campbell CBE, director of women’s football at The Football Association, commented: “The findings of the survey demonstrate the importance of programmes such as SSE Wildcats, which have been designed to introduce 5-11-year-old girls into football and in many cases will kick-start a life-long relationship with the game. 

“It is also great to see that parents are now seeing football as a potential career for their daughters, whether that be on or off the pitch. The FA Women’s Super League, our top tier of women’s football kicks off on Sunday 9 September as Europe’s only fully professional league.

“We hope many young girls will be inspired by these role models, with aspirations to one day emulate their success, be that as a player or in many of the supportive roles available such as a coach, nutritionist, physiotherapist or referee, just to name a few. 

“With the support of SSE we look forward to growing girl’s and women’s football in line with our ‘Gameplan for Growth’ strategy, which sees us strive to double both participation and the fanbase by 2020.”

Donald Gillies, head of girls’ and women’s football at the Scottish FA, also commented, saying: “We greatly welcome the findings of this research as it corroborates and expands on the direction of development we are taking the girls’ and women’s game in Scotland along with our partners at SSE. We aim to speak to parents to tell them how welcoming and nurturing football can be for their daughters and that it can provide an environment that will benefit them for a lifetime.

“Having the support of key stakeholders like SSE in conducting research, telling the story and bringing the opportunities to life through initiatives like the SSE Soccer Centres provides Scotland’s communities with great faith that when they provide more for the Girls’ and Women’s game they are contributing to an incredibly worthwhile and valuable area that will deliver positive outcomes for females in football, in their careers and in their lives”

SSE commissioned the survey as part of its “energy behind women’s football” sponsorship platform, which includes delivering girls’ participation programmes in both England and Scotland.