Arsenal and England star hails growth of female football

Former Arsenal star Anita Asante hailed the “incredible” transformation of women and girls’ football in the UK over the last 10 years after seeing the Lionesses book a place in the World Cup final.

Arsenal’s Alessia Russo sealed a 3-1 win over co-hosts Australia, knocking out clubmates Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord, to set up a final meeting with Spain on Sunday.

And former England defender Asante – speaking at a watch party with Highbury Wolves FC, who have seen a significant rise in females playing and set up a new U17 team in the last year due to National Lottery funding – hailed the progress made.

“The transformation has been incredible and that is thanks to National Lottery players and their investment of £50m which has gone into supporting clubs like Highbury Wolves,” she said.

The Highbury Wolves had just one female player in 2014 and now regularly see 100 girls playing across various teams. For Asante, it was a different story.

“Local grassroots clubs for girls just didn’t exist when I was younger,” she added. 

“It is extremely important for young girls and women to have access to local clubs at grassroots level where they can experience the fun of playing football in a social environment. Seeing that continued growth has been great and now loads of young people are being inspired to play.”

The visibility and the coverage of the Lionesses in recent years is something Asante believes is key for the growth of the game.

“Having the Lionesses across TV especially in major tournaments like this World Cup is great because it gives greater visibility for young people to see their role models on the big stage performing,” she said.

“That is essentially how they can be inspired to play and be the next generation of Lionesses and it is about that legacy piece that will continue to inspire girls and boys to play the game.

“Having that visibility and shining a spotlight on the women’s game is also massively important because it allows there to be visible role models for young people to see on the big screen and have aspirations and big dreams. 

“It allows them to think and dream big and want to enjoy what this sport can offer.”

Asante recently joined the Bristol City coaching set-up and helped the team get promotion into the Women’s Super League for the upcoming season.

“Going into coaching with Bristol City was a transformation I didn’t expect to necessarily be in, but it has been a brilliant one,” she said.

“I’ve really enjoyed the experience of trying to share knowledge with young players and support their journey both individually and collectively. 

“I’ve been really lucky to have done that with Bristol City last season and secure promotion to the WSL which we are really excited about.

“I have enjoyed every single minute of playing but now I get to do it the other side of the line too.”

*National Lottery players raise more than £30million a week for good causes including vital funding into sport – from grassroots to elite. 

Find out how your numbers make amazing happen at: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk #ThanksToYou #MakeAmazingHappen