The Gillingham FC Post-16 Girls Academy students are celebrating Women’s Sport Week by hosting a fun football festival at local Fairview Community Primary School.
As part of their academic studies, the girls have been tasked with planning and delivering a sporting event, and so have scheduled a football festival on Friday, June 23 for pupils at Gillingham-based Fairview Community Primary School. The day they have set-up consists of a friendly round robin tournament format, with additional fun activities such as a crossbar challenge and a penalty shoot out against players from South East Counties Division One League Winners Gillingham Girls Academy.
The girls are planning and delivering the day themselves, which gives a real opportunity for them to showcase their talents and abilities, and a chance for them to express the importance and reality of women in sport. The event comes at the end of Women's Sport Week, during which the girls have been sharing their thoughts on sports opportunities for girls, and the importance of female role models in sport to encourage participation.
Speaking before the event, Gillingham FC Community Trust's Women and Girls Development Officer Georgia Bowie said: "It's a wonderful opportunity for our girls to think for themselves and deliver activities that they believe will keep children engaged, and respect them as women involved in sport.
"The task pushes the girls out of their comfort zone and provides a platform for them to demonstrate their understanding of the importance of being young, responsible adults and role models. They are a smart, enthusiastic and professional group of young ladies who can sometimes hide behind other people and relax in their safety net. Giving the girls the freedom to deliver and organise a session themselves will hopefully prepare them for life outside of college and boost their levels of self-confidence to a can-do attitude, by learning the importance of planning, organising and communicating.
"The session will be a fantastic learning curve for the girls, especially as they'll have to think on their feet and adapt to any little hiccups along the way by themselves. I have every faith the session will be a success!"
Find out more about our Girls Academy's recent success here, or follow us @GillsCommunity to find out more about the work of Gillingham FC Community Trust.