Arsenal winger Vivienne Lia has a message for girls: “Don’t be ashamed of the fact that you enjoy football.
“When you’re younger, it is easy to fall into the shadows of the game, because you feel like you’re a girl and you can’t do that.”
The 18-year-old, currently on loan to Southampton, believes Arsenal’s grassroots initiatives are vital for encouraging girls into the sport.
The club marked the 40th year of itsArsenal in the Communityprogramme with a report into its impact.
Arsenal was the first club in the country to establish a community programme and now runs about 40 different weekly initiatives, benefiting more than 5,000 people.
Its girls football programme is one of its most successful initiatives, providing free weekly training and mentoring.
Sakinah Boateng, 21, joined the programme when she started secondary school.
Through her training sessions with the club, she discovered a passion for sports broadcasting which she is pursuing with the help of Arsenal.
“It’s changed my life,” she said.
“I don’t play football properly any more, but I’ve gone into a different avenue. To have that support from the Arsenal community from then to now is unmatched.”
Lionesses captain and Arsenal defender Leah Williamson said it was great to see so many girls enrolled on the programme, “but there is a long way to go.
“There are still some cultural barriers, some expectations placed on girls on what they are meant to be doing.
“Social norms are the biggest things we need to change.”
Arsenal contributed £616m to the UK economy in the 2022-23 season, according to the club’s Economic and Social Impact Report. Of that sum, the borough of Islington benefited by £425m.
In addition to the money generated by the club, more than 4,400 jobs in the UK and 1,600 local jobs were supported in that one season alone.
Local business also saw a positive economic benefit, with more than 1.6m supporters visiting the Emirates Stadium.