Goals Celebrates International Women's Day

Goals #EmbraceEquity through inclusive sport and work culture

International Women’s Day is about coming together globally to celebrate the achievements of women whether it be social, economic, cultural, or political celebrations. This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity. International Women’s Day promotes living in a gender-equal world. A world in which we can belong free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination, and live in a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where difference is valued.

Contrary to popular belief, this day isn’t just for females to speak out in support and empower one another. Rather, collectively we can all embrace equity and support. Today we will be speaking out in celebration of the female workforce that helps drive our company forward, alongside their male colleagues and peers. We will also be acknowledging the actions taken in order to reduce the stigma around women’s football and celebrate the talented ladies that have joined our community and shared our passion for the beautiful game. At Goals, we encourage everyone to get involved, because, football knows no gender.

Goals is home to 522 team members in the UK (snapshot date: 05/04/2021), some located in the field, head office, and across our 43 football clubs. We are proud to say that 42% of our professional squad is made up of females with a median hourly pay gap of 0. We have also made conscious efforts to increase the visibility of women’s football and encourage new playing habits between girls and women by offering an inclusive and welcoming environment:

• Dedicated ladies league programs
• Mixed league programs
• Dedicated female Kickabout sessions
• Enhanced social media coverage
• Women and girls tournaments
• Female/Women’s Platform Goals Pro’s

There are currently 3 female content creators and 2 men who represent and coach females in the game on our Goals Pro roster. We support their progression in the game by allowing them pitches to train as part of our influencer program where their content is then reshared for further exposure across the Goals estate’s social media accounts. We spoke with women’s football platform mentors, Rio 9 Striker and Football Scouts TV who gave us insight into the lives of their female players to understand the struggles they have faced throughout their lives in sport.

“I got into football through my dad. One day when I was 7 years old he just dropped me off at a football field and said, “you’re playing football” and ever since then I’ve never left the football field. One of the obstacles I’ve faced as a female is, ever since I was young my dream was to be a professional footballer but women don’t get the same exposure as men so instead of actually pursuing it, I was scared and decided to go to university which was a setback. I think other women should get involved with football because it’s a great way to be a part of a team, make friends, and be part of a community. The more women that get involved in the game, the more exposure which leads to more opportunities. I love the shared passion you have with your team when playing football. I choose to play at Goals with Football Scouts TV because they support the women’s game.” – Millie

“Football is the first thing I found that I could express myself with and it came naturally to me. I’m super passionate about women’s football and love how it’s growing. There weren’t many opportunities when I was growing up but I think now is the best time for other females to get involved in the sport, especially younger players as we’ve seen a big shift in women’s football with the amount of visibility; we’re getting played on TV, we’re getting brand deals, and sponsorships, football is actually a career path you can take now.” – Bex

Goals is a place for everyone because no one should feel as though they aren’t celebrated.

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Corrie Kane-Thom

National Marketing Manager
GOALS
Tel: 01355 340 260
corrie@goalsfootball.co.uk