The FA and Sport England are joining forces with the Premier League and The Football League to boost football for females.
A new joint initiative will see professional clubs provide grassroots football sessions for 14-25-year-old females.
This is the first time The FA, Premier League and The Football League have worked together on a grassroots women’s football programme and they are aiming to reach over 40,000 new female players.
The FA’s General Secretary Alex Horne said: “This is a fantastic initiative which sees The FA, Premier League, Football League and Sport England all working together to promote and grow the women’s game, the first time we have collaborated on developing a grassroots programme for the sport.
“The professional clubs’ brands will attract more players and we know that qualified coaches will deliver top class coaching sessions just where we need them.”
General Manager of The Football League Trust Mike Evans commented: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with The FA and Sport England on female football development.
“A large number of our 72 trusts already deliver women’s and girls’ football to a very high standard, but this additional funding will allow more trusts to get involved, and allow us to service the demand that we know is out there to get more females into the game.”
The FA have established the programme working with all key partners to ensure not only are girls and women encouraged to try the sport but also have a pathway to play the game.
A total of 88 clubs trusts will deliver the sessions through Level 2 qualified coaches with each club working in tandem with County FA’s, schools, colleges and universities to engage new participants into the game.
The Minister for Sport, Helen Grant, added: “This is great news for women’s football at the grassroots level. It shows what can be achieved by football working together.
“The Premier League and Football League clubs pull in the community combined with qualified coaches from The FA will make this a great success and get many more young women playing the game."