Girls’ football festival aims to develop skills in the beautiful game

by Callum Ellis & Editor

STUDENTS from Porth County Community, Porth Juniors and Ynyshir Primary School all participated in a girl’s football festival held at the University of South Wales Sport Park today.

More than 30 girls made the trip to Treforest and Wales Women’s midfielder Chloe Lloyd was also on hand to offer her experiences in football.

She also donated prizes for three of the girls; most improved player, Tia, most committed player, Leilah and player of the day, Evie, who Chloe described as a ‘mini Messi’.

“I think I would have needed this when I was young, for all the schools to come together in a friendly tournament and just to learn new skills,” said Chloe.

“But I’m glad they’ve all come today. Hopefully we’ll have more tournaments going forward, because it will be good for the uni and for women’s football.”

The event aimed to promote the women’s game in the university’s brand new indoor 3G pitch, which is the first of its kind in Wales.

Over 3,000 fans were in attendance at the Cardiff City Stadium for Wales Women’s most recent home game as they run out 1-0 winners against Kazakhstan in their World Cup qualifying campaign.

The recent success of Jayne Ludlow’s side has encouraged more supporters to get involved with the women’s team, and the event also aimed to achieve the same for the girls that participated.

USW Men’s first team coach Bobby Briers was supported by University of South Wales students, who setup various drills for the participants to test their footballing skills.

USW recently launched a series of videos to promote the female game in Wales, including the journey of graduate Gemma Evans.

Students from the BA Sports Journalism course were on hand to cover the event in words and images.

Sports Journalism student, Tom Pritchard, explained the importance of promoting the women’s game in Wales.

“After the recent results of the national women’s team, it is important to promote the game for young females at grassroots level.

“The brand-new facility at the Sport Park is currently being used as the training base for Jayne Ludlow’s side, so it’s great for the girls to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Chloe Lloyd.

“Hopefully the event has encouraged more girls to participate in the sport.”