Behind the scenes of Latest TV sport with Jay Legate

A taster

A few years ago, if you’d suggested that Wembley would be filled by people wanting to see women play football you’d probably be laughed at.

But, fresh from the success of Team GB at the London Olympics, the numbers playing the beautiful game is rocketing.
While the increasingly high-profile the sport is getting on national television is helping spread the word, it is locally that the biggest strides are being made.

Keen to check it out, I headed down to the latest Albion in the Community (AITC) session designed to get more girls interested in the game. I was not alone.

England defender Hannah Blundell was at Blatchington Mill School in Hove to talk to those training. Part of the purpose was to build publicity ahead of England’s game against Montenegro at The Amex stadium next month.

“The England defender was candid in discussing the sacrifices she’s made”

But the Chelsea Ladies player also provided the girls with a strong role model they could identify with – while being candid in discussing the sacrifices she’s made to get where she is.

She told Latest Sport: “It’s taken pretty much all my life, we train every day, sometimes double sessions. “I don’t really have much of a social life, with working as well, but it’s what I wanted to do, so I’m happy to do it.”

As part of the session, the girls were able to ask her about their journey and it was enlightening to hear the impact their presence had on the class.

Eleven-year-old Isla Murton told us: “I want to play for England, I just want to play football professionally.”
The ideal legacy of England’s game with Montenegro is to have more girls playing the game and to increase the number of sessions.

Kim Stenning is part of the coaching set up at AITC and says the desire is there: “We deliver to 21 schools a week, just for girls. So really we want to get the girls going!”

As well as ongoing sessions, AITC is also running a ‘taster session’ at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Davey Drive, Brighton, on Thursday 27 March.