Campaigns aim to stop thousands of girls giving up on sport

A million teenage girls abandon sport due to deeply rooted negative attitudes – but could the World Cup victory for the World Cup in England change this?

I arrive in a gym in a group of girls aged 11 and 12 playing netball and the laughter that sounds.

Their EP teacher, Liz Brown, says that she is passionate to strengthen their confidence through games like this and exercise.

“Sport and EP are the vehicle. My real job is to create personalities, confidence and resilience,” she told me.

As they move the ball, shoot and train, students tell me that playing sports contributes to their mental and physical health.

One of them, Ellie-May, says: “It makes me happy and it’s pleasant.”

These are the kinds of teenage girls that a new target campaign, with the hope that England’s success in the Women’s Rugby World Cup will help them abandon sport.

Research from the charitable organization Women in Sport discovered that a million teenage girls, who loved games in primary school, abandoned them after having advanced.

A fear of feeling judged by others, a lack of confidence and not feeling safe outside was among the negative attitudes behind the decline, cited by the study.

Back in the gym, at the intermediary school Perton in the Staffordshire, near Wolverhampton, Ms. Brown says that she thinks that girls want to be part of the sport.

“They want to be part of a community, they want to go out and have fun,” she told me.

“If these girls can see him on television and social media, they understand and they follow, and they will appreciate it.”

Among the girls, Valentina and Kiara say: “No matter if you are not good in this area because you can still get additional help.”

Before the World Cup, The Red Roses launched a campaign asked that girls were aimed at inspiring women and girls to be more active and more confident.

“Social media, television coverage of the World Cup, Tiktok dances and all of this have a major impact on students,” adds Ms. Brown.

One of the girls in the gym, Scarlett, says everyone is good enough in sport and “no matter what you do or how you do it, try it and everything will be fine”.

Grassroots Sport obtains 400 million pounds from the government, said ministers in June to promote health and eliminate obstacles to sport for groups, including women and girls.

For Stephanie Hilborne, director general of Women in Sport, efforts had to be made to break a myth “that teenagers abandon sport simply because their priorities change”.

“They fail due to the stereotypes of early childhood, inadequate opportunities and a total shortage of knowledge on the management of female puberty,” she added.

The women’s rugby world cup has attracted huge crowds, ticket sales beat those of the previous tournament and its popularity across the country was noted by those who play the game.

At Worcester Rugby Club, Jessie, who plays for their under -16 team, said the buzz around the tournament had been great.

“I asked my school friends to tell me about the World Cup that does not even play rugby and we had about four or five new players this year,” she said.

“I would love to be able to play professional rugby. Whatever happens, I will continue to play, I will never abandon it.”

“I lit my phone after school today and all I got was rugby social media and I loved it,” added Elinor, a flanker in the team.

Their team has a solid link with red roses because they are trained by the first woman to mark 60 international trials, the former English winger Nicky Crawford, who is also Jessie’s mother.

“If you play with your friends, then you are more likely to continue with sport later and develop friendships for life,” she said.

“The World Cup can pass the word how great the world of rugby is, how accessible it is to everyone and how fun it is.

“When the red roses mark the tests and make the celebrations afterwards, just the smiles on their faces are simply rewarding in itself and inspires the girls to say” I want to do that “.

The success of the women of England is something that the Rugby Football Union is looking to rely with Sport England data showing the number of women and girls who play rugby increases.

They aim to obtain 100,000 female players in the sport recorded by 2027 and work with the government and other groups on the inheritance of the World Cup this year.

Funding worth 12.1 million pounds sterling was promised for England and home unions to create more rugby opportunities for women and girls.

In 2022, the Worcester Club launched what they claimed to be the first team of mixed female capacity in England and they now hope to start a team of midlands and national in the future.

Their approach offers a safe, welcoming and inclusive space and the age of the players varies from 17 to 57 years, those who have chosen to participate in contact or to reach rugby.

Jennie Hussain said that she was nervous when she arrived at a training session, but that she is now at the club three evenings a week.

“I was worried because I was wearing a hijab and I thought it would bother or people would judge me, but everyone was so welcoming,” she said. “I haven’t looked back since.”

Elsie-May has been playing for a year and said she liked to slide into the mud.

Her father David added: “Women and coaches are incredible. There are many different standards here, but she likes rugby and socialization.”