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300 Compete In Wigan Girls' Football
Tournament
Female football is fast improving in Wigan
Borough.
That was clear for everyone to see on Friday (June 15th) when over 300
girls from 13 schools across the borough took part in the Wigan Girls’
World Cup 2007.
The standard of play was excellent throughout, as the girls showed why
football can no longer be considered an exclusive male sport.
The Girls’ World Cup, which was jointly organised by Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust and Wigan Council’s Community Safety Team as part of Wigan
Borough’s Kick Racism Out Of Football campaign, saw 25 school teams
competing in under-12 and under-14 tournaments.
In the spirit of the multiculturalism that Kick Racism Out Of Football
promotes, the teams competed as national countries from across the
globe, kitted out in strips supplied by JJB Stadium, thanks to funding
from Wigan Council’s Community Safety Team.
In the under-14s final, England (St John Fisher Catholic High School)
recorded a rare 2-0 victory over arch rivals Germany (Golborne High
School), while in the under-12s final Sweden (Lowton Community Sports
College) secured a dramatic penalty shoot out win over the USA (Deanery
High School) after the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
David Bradley, Sports Development Officer for Wigan Leisure and Culture
Trust, said: “We are working hard to develop girls’ football and you
could see from the talent on display today that the benefits are really
starting to pay off.
“There are now two thousand girls playing regular organised football
across the borough. With this being the year of the UEFA Women’s World
Cup we thought this was the ideal opportunity to showcase that local
talent.”
The Girls’ World Cup was attended by players from the Wigan Latics
Ladies FC, while Mayor of Wigan Cllr John O’Brien and Wigan Leisure and
Culture Trust Chief Executive Rodney Hill presented the English and
Swedish sides with the World Cups at the end of the tournament.
In recent years the women’s game has gained a much higher profile,
thanks largely to increased television coverage by the likes of the BBC,
who broadcast the Women’s FA Cup Final annually and major female
tournaments like the 2006 European Championships, which were held in
England.
The number of women watching Premiership matches has also grown rapidly
in recent years. One in every five people attending a top flight game is
now female.
Many people, like 11 year-old Jodie I’Anson, think it won’t be long
before women are competing against men at the highest level too.
Midfielder Jodie, who represented Hindley Community College at the
Girls’ World Cup on Friday, said: “I think women should definitely be
able to play in the Premiership because some of them are as good as men.
I think it will probably happen one day.”
• Do you think women should be allowed to compete against men in
professional football matches? Send your views to us here at:
linconline@wlct.org
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