New girls’ league set up in Gwent as participation sky-rockets

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Girls’ football is growing from strength-to-strength, with the brand new Gwent County Girls League launched to help continue this trend.

The new league will feature 73 teams from across Gwent, with hundreds of players set to take part.

Caerphilly Observer spoke to Treowen Stars Girls FC under-10s coach and league secretary, Steven Mckenzie, about the benefits the league will bring to girls’ football.

He said: “It’s all about participation. The South Wales Girls League (SWGL) is great but we had over 1,800 registered players as of February last year, so there was definitely an appetite to expand.

“We had a great response from clubs across Gwent when the league was proposed with 20 clubs signed up for this first season alone.”

The push for increasing numbers comes after the Football Association of Wales (FAW) announced its aim to get 20,000 girls playing football in Wales by 2026.

At the moment, the league offers football to girls between the ages of six and 13. Steven talked about the need to sustain player numbers through engagement at a young age but said getting coaches has proved difficult so far, with 39% of clubs in the league reporting a shortage.

“When a team has an under-7s for example, as soon as they become an U8s there will be no U7s if there isn’t an U6s to replace them. This is a constant issue that leaves some teams alone in their age bracket.

“At this level you don’t need to be an expert to coach, it’s more about having fun. The FAW website has loads of guides to help you start too.

“There was an example where one U9s team couldn’t play a game all year last season due to not having a coach. It means those girls will get discouraged and that would be a shame.”

Steven added how this first season will not be competitive at any age group as more teams join but that as of next season the U12s and U13s will play full fixtures.

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The league currently run a ‘hub’ out of Abertillery Sports Centre where 100 girls play each week.

There are also plans to expand to a second venue at Newbridge Leisure Centre soon.

Despite this progress, Steven spoke about how facilities have been one of the leagues biggest concerns: “With girls the facilities have to be excellent. There are only a few places that we can realistically afford that meet our criteria and they are difficult to book.

“If we had more funding, through sponsors for example, we’d have greater options. Abertillery has been great to us so far however and the kids love it.”

The league itself has been incredibly active in working with clubs, according to Steven, teaching coaches the necessary skills as well as a design the badge competition.

Asked about what the future may look like for the league, Steven concluded: “In five years time we’d love to transition into a woman’s and girls’ league – if we have the players.

“We want to be different to the boys’ leagues. The family-friendly atmosphere is great and everyone wants to grow as a sport. It’ll take a collaborative approach across teams and leagues.”

You can contact the league on ‘GCGL.secretary@gmail.com’ to get involved.