Arsenal & England legends Ian Wright & Kelly Smith travelled to Cheetham Hill Sports Club to plaster and paint the walls of new girls’ changing rooms, giving girls greater access to the facilities they need to play football.
Ian and Kelly have been joined by six local young volunteers from social enterprise Volunteer It Yourself (VIY) who are being trained in skills such as painting, plastering and carpentry whilst working on this first section of a longer three-month improvement project at the club.
The young volunteers will receive hands-on work experience with professional tradespeople, Entry Level 3 City & Guilds trade skills accreditation, employability skills and 6-month post-project support, all whilst benefitting their community.
‘I just want every girl to be able to play football if they want to. There are so many things that women’s and girls’ football needs. First, they need the pitch and the coaches. They also need facilities where they can feel safe, secure and valued, just like the boys do. That’s why the Barclays Community Football Fund is important; it’s giving money to local projects in communities around the UK. There’s no point just focusing on the elite game; this is where the love and dreams start. This kind of investment into grassroots is where it’s going to make a real difference.’said Ian Wright, Arsenal and England legend
The transformation of the girls changing rooms at Cheetham Hill has been made possible through the Barclays Community Football Fund (BCFF) – born out of Barclays’ commitment to make football more inclusive to under-represented groups, particularly girls– which provided a grant to Volunteer It Yourself. Other contributors to the project include Sport England, granting match-funding; Dulux, supplying paint; and Travis Perkins, providing the building materials.
‘All I’ve ever wanted to do was play football. Growing up, I was kicked off my local team because I was a girl and there was no girls team to join. It was soul-destroying. Giving girls a space they belong in football will make a difference. That’s why this build at Cheetham Hill is important. It’s exactly what I wanted and needed as a kid.’ said Kelly Smith, former Arsenal and England striker
After the Lionesses semi-final win in 2022’s monumental Women’s Euros campaign, Ian Wright publicly urged for the tournament to create a lasting legacy for women’s football: ‘If there’s no legacy after this, then what are we doing? Girls should be able to play [football].’
The build at Cheetham Hill Sports Club is bringing this legacy to life. Based in Greater Manchester, the club, with inclusivity at its heart, aims to promote, develop, and facilitate sports at all ages and levels within the wider community. Though the club currently have three active female football teams, prior to this building project, the site had no dedicated female changing facilities.
VIY’s work as part of this transformative build, which began on January 25th with works continuing until April by the club, will include creating stud walls to separate current changing and shower facilities to create safe, separate female facilities to match the male amenities.
Other building work includes creating cabinets for sink bases, as well as painting and decorating the corridor and lobby area. These facilities will accommodate the club’s growing female sports teams, giving approximately 50 girls a safe space to change and a deeper sense of belonging to their local football club and community.
