A cold Wednesday night in October doesn’t sound like fun to many - but to 8 young girls it was an evening of a lifetime.
8 girls from the local club Kingshurst PSC and Coventry United were given the opportunity to be flag bearers at Birmingham City’s home fixture against Burnley. The age groups were ranged, meaning we were able to give the girls from each age group an experience they will never forget.
The event wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing sponsors, LoveBrum, Tilton Talk Show, Mr Airborne, Esme's Essentials, and LightBox.
Two of the young girls who took part are referees. The stories they told us were quite upsetting. As young girls, it is hard enough to break the stigma and barriers around women playing football - let alone refereeing. The girls discussed with the team in depth their experiences, stating that the parents are the worst culprits for abuse when they are refereeing. We urge parents to think. Although we understand, yet don’t condone, there is a difficult relationship between referees in general and players/parents/fans, we urge everyone to consider what they say, especially as we are trying to encourage the next generation, including girls, to become referees.
However, the positivity and strength the girls showed was very empowering. Although they dislike the comments they receive, they said it doesn’t let them stop refereeing because it’s what they love to do - which we as a team think is an amazing and strong perspective to have!
The excitement on the girls faces was pure and heartwarming - and we hope they had the night of their lives.
At HGT X BCFC, we’ve all had experiences where as women who love football we’ve been told no - and we strongly believe that we can and will change this. We want to offer and promote opportunities to girls of all ages allowing them to participate in the sport they love.
Quotes from our sponsors:
“We were delighted to sponsor the Her Game Too initiative as it is very aligned with a number of our values and beliefs.
To be a part of something that looks to eradicate sexism in the football industry and to help women and girls of all ages to feel confident and safe to share their opinion about football without fear of sexist abuse, was a real pleasure.” - PJ Ellis, LightBox
“LoveBrum were proud to introduce Kingshurst Pavilions and HGT to each other and see them growing that partnership. All of the girls were amazing last night and it was so lovely to see their big smiles and having a great night. A big thank you to Birmingham City FC for giving them this opportunity” Linzie - LoveBrum
"Fantastic night, we were very proud to be sponsoring the girls"- Tilton Talk Show
"Great night at Birmingham City FC supporting the girls and everything that they're doing. Thank you for having me on board." - Mr Airborne
"It was an absolute pleasure here at Esmé's Essentials to be a part of the Birmingham City FC guard of honour by sponsoring the girls that were participating.
To contribute towards highlighting the importance of women and girls to be included within the football scene is just amazing and of course covering their appetites with our essential snack boxes after they'd been out onto the pitch was just an added bonus!" - Esmé's Essentials
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