Sunday 10th July 2016

Royal Wootton Bassett Town have been awarded SSE funding to support the development of girls' football in Wiltshire.

The funding is part of SSE's participation programme, which gives clubs funding to set up new teams and coaching sessions for girls aged 5 to 14 in order to ensure the growth in popularity of women's football results in as many girls as possible playing the game.

SSE, title sponsors of the Women's FA Cup which Royal Wootton Bassett Town's Ladies side have participated in over the past four seasons, are working with the FA, approaching clubs to ask what they need in order to encourage more girls to play football.

Bassett, who alongside a Ladies team are seeking to establish an Under 16s squad for the coming season, will use the funding to help allow for an Under 10 Girls side to be set up.

Currently the club has the following sessions available for Ladies and Girls interesting in playing to come along to:

Saturday Morning Club (10-11am at Gerard Buxton Sports Ground - SSE session for Girls in school years 2, 3, 4 and 5 from September 2016)
Under 16s (Thursday evenings, 8-9.30pm, Gerard Buxton Sports Ground from September 2016)
Ladies (Thursday evenings, 8-9.30pm, Gerard Buxton Sports Ground)

Regarding the SSE initiative, the FA's Director of Football Participation and Development, Kelly Simmons, said: "This is a fantastic initiative that will really make a difference in participation numbers.

"We know that our clubs provide an invaluable route to playing football for so many girls and this initiative will allow them to do even more good work in their communities.

"Female football participation is one of our key areas of focus at The FA and this will help to drive participation rates even further."

Alan Young, SSE Managing Director of Corporate Affairs, added: "We've started to see the plans we're making with The FA to grow the women's game take shape and the participation programme is another huge step in ensuring girls have the best possible chance to get involved in the beautiful game – one of the main reasons we entered this partnership."

To find out more about the work SSE are doing in women's football, please visit sse.co.uk/girls-united

Last modified on Sunday 10th July 2016 at 12:41.