by Matt Slater & James Macken
GIRLS are playing football in Wales in increasing numbers, but there is still work to be done to change perceptions and overcome the challenges facing the game.
That was the message of Lowri Roberts, head of women and girls football at the Football Association of Wales.
She was speaking to Sports Journalism students at the University of South Wales about her role and what she hopes to achieve in it.
The participation in football by girls has increased by 17%, with more than six and a half thousand girls playing in Wales.
This has occurred in part due to the level of accessibility the women’s game has with the media, with the players being more open to interviews and acting as relatable role-models.
Roberts said that “the women’s national team has inspired more girls to play”. She aspires to raise the profile of the professionals in the national team to “utilise them as ambassadors and influencers” in order to help grow the interest and involvement of other females.
She has a clear plan for developing the interest of girls in the younger age groups. Roberts predominantly wants to encourage those aged from four to 12 to play football; retain and engage those aged 13 and over and regularly inform and reach out to the large number of established Welsh football fans.
Following the astonishing World Cup qualifying campaign the women’s team had, where they just missed out on qualification, the average attendance increased to an average of 3,096.
Reflecting on that, Roberts said: ‘It’s important to have male advocates behind the women’s game to see it as football, not just women’s football.”
In terms of ambitions and targets for the near future, Roberts also said: “We have a target of 20,000 girls to be playing by 2024 and want to increase that by a healthy amount year on year.”
The women’s game in Wales has increased in popularity and has received a massive boost from the recent achievements of the national team. However, Roberts believes that there is still room for improvement and wants to expand the game as much as possible.
The perceptions of women’s football and the key challenges that young girls playing the sport face have been identified as hindering further development.
There is one girl to every ten boys involved in football. Girls playing football suffer from confidence, self-esteem and social perception issues.
“Some people have always had the mindset that the women’s game isn’t up to standard,” said Roberts.
“We are encouraging young girls to challenge that mindset and show them how good women’s football really is.”
Roberts’ role includes raising the profiles of the international stars to enable the FAW to fully utilise them as ambassadors and influencers.
“We need to make sure that it is not just a copy and paste of the men’s game,” she added.
Sports Journalism first year student Adam Evans is speaking to Lowri Roberts. Camera operator is Jack Cook.