Lionesses' inspirational impact revealed with over 50% more women and girls playing football following Euro 2022 success and World Cup final appearance

Women's football is undergoing an unprecedented growth in England in the wake of the incredible achievements of the Lionesses.

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  A report from the Football Association (FA) on the organisation's Inspiring Positive Change initiative showed that around there has been a 56 per cent increase in women and girls playing the game over the past four years. Also, there has been a massive 88% uptick in female coaches while the number of referees went up by 113%.

Friendlies

England
England
2024-10-25T18:30:00.000Z18:30

Germany
Germany
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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The rise in popularity in the women's game has been helped by the success of the England national team. The Lionesses won the 2022 European Championship and then reached the World Cup final last year, but lost 1-0 to Spain.

• WHAT THE FA SAID

  The FA's director of women's football, Baroness Sue Campbell, said of the improvement: "It is remarkable what has been achieved in just four years across all levels, with more women and girls stepping forward to play, coach, officiate and participate as fans. But there is still more work to be done for the sport to reach the heights we know it can grow to.

  "It is our continued mission to increase diversity and make the women’s game an accurate representation of our society. We’re seeing an improvement, but we cannot rest on our laurels and we need to ensure every woman and girl, regardless of their background, can access football and enjoy the benefits it brings. There is every reason to be excited about where our game goes next, and I cannot wait to see where we will be in another four years’ time."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  After the completion of the four-year plan, English football's governing body is working on a new strategy for girls' and women's football in the country, which it says will be announced in the near future. Meanwhile, Sarina Wiegman's team will be back on the field on October 25 when they face Germany in a friendly at Wembley.