- The FA, NewCo and other bodies have come together to give impetus to the implementation of the recommendations made in Karen Carney MBE's review of women's football, brought together by Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser
- The news comes as the Sports Minister convened academics and industry stakeholders to explore further opportunities to advance women's sport.
- The conference builds on the Government's existing commitment to supporting the growth of women's and girls' sport, including the £30m Lionesses Futures Fund.
Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser will today convene the first Women's Football Review Implementation Group, bringing together leaders to deliver the recommendations made in Karen Carney MBE's Blueprint for Women's Football in the Country.
NewCo – the new independent body responsible for managing the women's professional game – representatives from the FA, the Football Foundation, Sport England, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority, the Professional Football Association, the English Football League, the Department for Education and the Premier League and the Culture Secretary on progress to date You will be asked to report the situation.
This group is responsible for implementing world-leading standards for players, fans and staff. Improve talent development pathways. It has also been proposed to create a dedicated broadcast slot for women's soccer.
In December 2023, the Government fully supported the recommendations made in the Carney Review to deliver bold and sustainable growth for women's football. This follows the announcement of the government's new sports strategy to get 3.5 million people active by 2030, including an additional 1.25 million women.
Culture Secretary Lucy Fraser said:
We remain steadfast in our plans to grow and increase participation in women's sport to achieve our ambitious target of 1.25 million more active women by 2030.
Last year, the Government fully supported the recommendations made in Karen Carney's review of women's football.
We are currently implementing the recommendations made to the Government, including bringing together those responsible for making change to ensure progress is made.
One of the key recommendations made in this review was for the Government, together with local authorities, the FA and the Premier League, to increase investment in providing meaningful access for women and girls to participate in sport.
Progress is already being made in this with the Government's commitment to invest £30 million through the Lionesses Futures Fund to deliver 30 new state-of-the-art 3G pitches in women's teams and facilities supporting women's teams across England. It is being The Government is also taking steps to improve equal access through unprecedented investment in grassroots facilities, with more than 2,200 of her projects already in place across the UK.
Ms Carney will be joining the conference bringing her experience and industry knowledge to improve talent development pathways and what has been done to date to address the lack of diversity in women's football. I plan on listening.
Karen Carney MBE said:
It's great to see how far we've come and to see the Government's commitment to women's football, but we can't be complacent. We hope that the Implementation Group can make further progress at a faster pace to implement the review's recommendations.
I am very pleased that a wide range of stakeholders will be participating. I truly believe that through collaboration, investment and hard work, we can make our sport a world leader in everything from competitive standards to fan access to career opportunities for women. The growth of women's sports represents a broader movement towards equity, and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Three additional independent individuals have also joined the group to provide knowledge and guidance. Kelly Simmons, sports consultant and board advisor; Jane Pardon, director and consultant for both football and rugby; and Deborah Dilworth, FSA Head of Women's Football.
In his review, Mr Carney outlined the importance of raising minimum standards, with particular focus on pay, training facilities and physical and mental health. During the meeting, NewCo and the FA are expected to outline the initial steps they are taking to provide a fully professional environment.
The Government is committed to promoting the progress of women's football and raising standards across women's sport. Minister for Sport Stuart Andrew today chaired the first ever Women in Sport Commission meeting, bringing together industry leaders and academics.
The Board will bring together relevant leaders across women's sport to share insights and consider future opportunities to help women's sport continue to grow in a sustainable manner, with a particular focus on elite and professional levels. To do.
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said:
While it's great to see women's and girls' sports on an upward trajectory over the past few years, we know there's still a lot of work to be done.
We listened to the recommendations of Karen's review and brought together key stakeholders from across women's sport to share best practice on the issues facing female athletes.
We want to build a shared vision across women's and girls' sport and help the sport go from strength to strength.
Attendees at the first meeting will include representatives from Sport England, British Sport and the British Sporting Authority, as well as experts from FIFA, the Concussion Research Forum and The Well Head Office. Karen Carney MBE and BBC Sports Director Barbara Slater will also join as independent members. The establishment of the board is also a recommendation from the women's football review.
Discussions are expected to focus on the physical well-being of female athletes, including issues such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries and concussions, and the impact of women's health life stages on athletes.
Upcoming conferences will focus on themes such as sustainable investment in women's sport and physical and mental health and support to create new opportunities and help women's sport reach its full potential. It's a schedule.
This comes after the Women's Football Review highlighted the lack of sharing of best practice across the sport on issues affecting elite female athletes. It is estimated that only 6% of sports exercise and science research involves women only, demonstrating the critical need for research based solely on women.
Note to editor
- One of the recommendations in the women's football review was for the government to implement recent commitments on equal access to girls' school sport. Last week, the Department for Education announced new guidance for schools to strengthen equal access to school sport and physical education.
- New guidance provides inspiration for schools to provide inclusive, high-quality sport for all pupils, and includes barriers to participation in PE, including for schools to build relationships with local and national sporting bodies. shows how it can be removed.
- Members of the Women's Football Review Implementation Group: Mark Bullingham, Football Association (FA) CEO; Baroness Sue Campbell, Head of Women's Football, Football Association (FA). Nicky Doucet, NewCo CEO. Claire Sumner, Chief Policy and Executive Officer of the Premier League and Maheta Molango, CEO of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA). Rick Parry, Chairman of the English Football League (EFL). Mr Ken Scott, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA). Patrick Brosnan, Head of Strategy at Sport England. Robert Sullivan, CEO of the Football Foundation. Matthew Hopkinson, DD, Department of Education. Deborah Dilworth, Head of Women's Football at the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) and member of the Women's Football Review Expert Panel. Karen Carney MBE, former expert, chair of judges and sports commentator. Kelly Simmons OBE, Sports Consultant, Board Advisor. Jane Pardon, Director of Football and Rugby and Consultant.
- Women in Sport Committee Members: Hazel McCluskey, Sport England Strategy Lead Business Transformation. Stuart Pickering, Head of Performance Partnerships at British Sport. Matt Archibald, National Director of the British Institute of Sport. Dr Pippa Bennett, Head of Clinical Governance at the British Institute of Sport. Dr Jaydeep Gupte, Director, Research, Strategy and Innovation (Arts and Humanities Research Council), UK Research & Innovation. Fiona Semple, Athlete Support Manager, British Elite Athletes Association. Liz Bloor, Chair of the PPF Women's Sports Committee, Professional Players Federation. Joe Maher, Vice-Chancellor of Sport, Loughborough University. Karen Carney MBE, former professional footballer and Chair of the Women's Football Review Panel. Barbara Slater, BBC Sports Director. Tammy Parlor, CEO, Women's Sports Trust; Fran Connolly, CEO, England Netball. Alex Teasdale, England Rugby Women's Game Director. Kay Cossington, Football Association Women's Technical Director. Tommy Yule, Head of Performance, UK Athletics. John Dutton, CEO of British Cycling. Dr. Rob Buckle, Chair of the Concussion Research Forum. Buzz Moffat, CEO, The Well HQ; Nadine Kessler, UEFA Managing Director, Women's Football. Belinda Wilson, FIFA Women's Football Senior Technical Development Manager. Georgie Bruinbels, PHD Research Scientist and Female Athlete Leader at Oreco. Marian Holliday, Deputy Director of Women's Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
