Lionesses success recognised with £30m fund for grassroots women's football
- Published
The funding will provide 30 new 3G pitches and facilities for women's and girls' teams in England
A £30m fund for grassroots women's football in England has been announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Football Association.
It comes after the Lionesses' success in reaching the Fifa World Cup final in August and winning Euro 2022.
The Lionesses Futures Fund will provide 30 new 3G pitches and facilities prioritising women's and girls' teams across England.
The UK Government is providing £25m and the FA £5m.
Women's and girls' only evenings and priority booking options for women's and girls' teams will be introduced at all of the new sites, alongside dedicated female changing rooms, shower facilities and accessible toilets.
The funding is part of the government's aim to increase activity levels of two-and-a-half million more adults and one million more children by 2030, which was announced in its sport strategy in August.
"We are super excited - after the Euros and the World Cup, we wanted to create a legacy," England defender Lucy Bronze told BBC Sport.
"Having success as a team means we can push the game forward, not only at the professional level but all the way down and give back to young girls things we may not have had when we were growing up.
"I remember my first game, I had to get changed on my own because the only changing room was used by the boys. We want women to thrive, to be confident and having those facilities and accessibility will make a huge difference."
The 23 members of England's Euro 2022-winning squad wrote an open letter to the government calling for equal access to sports in schools, including football, which led to a £600m fund over two academic years.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer announced the investment at a Lionesses training session at St George's Park before their Nations League match against the Netherlands at Wembley on Friday.
"During the World Cup I said that we would do everything possible to support women's and girls' football," said Frazer.
"This is just the latest move in our commitment to invest in women and girls' grassroots sport facilities, and ensure the squad's legacy lives long into the future."
In 2022, the government commissioned former England women's player Karen Carney MBE to conduct a review on the future of domestic women's football, to which the government will publish an official response in the coming weeks.