Women's Football Club teams up with local school

A fun football tournament for a local after-school club was organised recently by members of the Edinburgh University Women's Association Football Club (EUWAFC).

The After School Club at Sciennes Primary School includes children from P1-P7 and they loved being in the Meadows to get fresh air, exercise and improve their football skills.

After school, the children met a number of keen EUWAFC players who ran fun games and warm-ups, with the favourite definitely being cat and mouse! Teaching was based around involvement and getting the kids used to touches of the ball and having the ball at their feet.

King of the ring was another popular game, which familiarised the children with dribbling and stopping the ball. The basic dribbling and passing technique was taught before getting into small-sided games which the children found very exciting! 

Although some of the children were new to playing football, they were all enthusiastic about taking part and were encouraged to get stuck in with the emphasis on having fun. The students found it especially revealing to see how excited the girls were to see that women can play football, and play really well.

I loved playing football with all of the football women. The games were really fun and I got to play with all of my friends. I had never played football before and now I want to join a team!

The members of the EUWAFC are keen to encourage more young children to play football and, specifically, to be role models for girls.  By inspiring more young girls and giving them opportunities to participate, the Club hopes to improve the gender inequality that is prevalent in many sports. 

After School Club staff were grateful to have outside coaches to come in and run the session and remarked how much the children had enjoyed themselves.

Playing football is a great way for children of all abilities to keep active and have fun.  It not only helps develop physical and fitness skills but also helps build teamwork, social skills and confidence and improves physical and mental health and wellbeing.

At EUWAFC, we are passionate about giving every child the opportunity to participate in football, especially where there are few opportunities. Football should be a sport for all and we hope to run more tournaments in the future.

Find out more

If you would like more information on the football tournament, or if you would like the Club to come and deliver a similar session at your school, please contact the Club President at clubsu03@ed.ac.uk.

Visit the EUWFC website