Special guests attend our female adult recreational football session
Leading up to Brentford FC Community Stadium playing host to its first Euros game, BBC Sport London hosted their radio broadcast from Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub
Our recreational football session for females over the age of 16 continues to grow, and recently we had the pleasure of inviting BBC Sport London to conduct their Women’s Euros pre-match broadcast from Gunnersbury Park Sports Hub a stone’s throw away from where England’s opening game of the tournament would take place against Austria.
Alongside BBC Sport London, Councillor Salman Shaheen, cabinet member for Parking, Parks and Leisure in Hounslow, was in attendance and had this to say about the session “This football session is a fantastic example of how grassroots organisations are creating safe and welcoming environments for girls and women to play and enjoy football. This is the borough of Bend It Like Beckham. Twenty years on from a landmark film that called out the social stigma of women playing football, Hounslow is playing host to the UEFA Women’s EURO, and we want to build a lasting legacy around this.”
Luke Brooks-Smith, our Head of Community Sport, said: “We were asked to look at how we can increase female participation in the lead-up to the tournament, and off the back of that, we started these sessions in January. Since then, we’ve had around 120 women registered for the sessions, with around 30-35 women taking part each week, all completely free of charge. What’s wonderful about this session is we’ve got a real variety of ages and abilities. We’ve got some who are 16, some in further education or some who are finishing Year 11 who are really interested in continuing their football journey. They all get to come together every Wednesday night to improve their football skills while having a good time.
You can listen to the full BBC Sport London broadcast here and with Brentford’s Community Stadium hosting a number of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 matches, including the quarter-final match on Thursday 21 July remaining tickets will be on sale via www.uefa.com/womenseuro/ticketing/.
