Ex-Lioness helps girls 'feel valued' in football

Rachel Yankey said the Play Their Way campaign was all about "positive first experiences"

A former Lioness has said footballers "want to make sure that girls feel valued" within the game and during training sessions.

England record cap holder Rachel Yankey took part in a girls' football session run by Oxford United for Play Their Way, a campaign backed by Sport England.

It took place at the club's training ground at Oxford Sports Park, with the aim to highlight the changes needed to coaching to keep girls playing football and staying active for life.

The campaign aims to transform the way children are coached amid a growing sports "enjoyment gap" between boys and girls, leading to increased numbers of girls dropping out of sport after primary school.

The former Lioness said that once girls had input in the session, "they want to come back and they want to be involved"

The latest Sport England Children's Active Lives Survey also shows a gender gap in physical activity with girls less likely to be active than boys.

Research by Play Their Way featuring more than 1,000 children also found that girls are less likely than boys to feel encouraged and listened to by their coaches.

Yankey, who now coaches grassroots football in schools, said the campaign was all about "positive first experiences".

"We want to make sure that girls feel valued within the game, within the training session, and ... actually give something back," she said in an interview for BBC Radio Oxford.

She said watching the girls in Oxford helping plan, design and having "a real impact" on the session, "shows their value in it".

"Once they've had input, they want to come back and they want to be involved."

Yankey encourages coaches, teachers and parents to research how the campaign could help "think about the child first"

Yankey's visit was ahead of tonight's England match against the Netherlands in the Women's Euros.

She said some of the girls, "may want to go on to become an England footballer at the highest level" like the Lionesses, while others might just "enjoy playing sport and making new friends".

"That's equally as important for introducing people to the game, to the sport and to a healthier lifestyle."

Yankey said the campaign was about supporting coaches as well and appealed to coaches, teachers and parents to get more information on it.

"That may help one person to then coach a little differently and maybe think about the child first rather than how the session has to be run," she said.

Play Their Way aims to transform the way children are coached amid a growing sports "enjoyment gap" between boys and girls