A Seat at the Table: Bloomsbury Football underlines the need for more female coaches on the pitch this International Women’s Day 

The London-based charity Bloomsbury Football is celebrating the female coaches in their community this International Women’s Day and advocating for more women to get into coaching with their campaign, ‘A Seat at the Table’

This March, International Women’s Day has the theme ‘Inspire Inclusion’. Bloomsbury Football, a charity using the power of football to support over 5,000 young people in London per week, has partnered with Momentum On, to tackle the lack of women in coaching and inspire more girls & women to get on the pitch. 

 ‘A Seat at the Table’ is a campaign that celebrates the women coaching Bloomsbury Football players and draws attention to the barriers that prevent more female coaches from getting on the pitch. The campaign focuses on three coaches in the Bloomsbury Football community: Beth, Sasha and Morgan. Each coach came to the game for different reasons, and they represent the diversity that exists within the game. Through a series of portraits, group shots and a video featuring interviews with the coaches, ‘A Seat at the Table’ is a visual celebration of the importance and power of women in coaching. 

In early February 2024, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes described the lack of women in coaching as ‘a massive issue’. She stated that a lot of work needs to be done to address this issue. As of January 2024, one third of coaches managing the Women’s Super League are women. Whilst numbers of women being involved in the game are increasing, there are still significant barriers that prevent women from being involved in coaching at every level of the game. Football is in many ways still a boy’s club, where few women are offered a seat at the table. 

 ‘A Seat at the Table’ celebrates the female coaches at Bloomsbury Football who are an inspiration to the players in their community. Bloomsbury Football is a charity using the power of football to improve mental and physical wellbeing, foster community cohesion and build life skills to give young people to best chance of succeeding. The charity has a financial assistance model that ensures no player is priced out of play. Established in 2018, the charity now engages 5,000 young people a week, including 1,500 girls across north and central London.

With this campaign, Bloomsbury Football is celebrating women coaching on the grassroots level and highlighting the importance of these individuals to create real change in the industry. When girls grow up seeing the many pathways available to them in football, they are more likely to have the confidence to believe that they, too, could go on to coach. When girls see their female coaches taking a seat at the table, they believe that they can do so too. 

 ABOUT BLOOMSBURY FOOTBALL 

Bloomsbury Football is a sport for change charity based in London. The charity support over 5,000 young people a week. Their mission is to use the power of football to improve mental and physical wellbeing, foster community cohesion and teach life skills to give young people the best chance of succeeding in life. With a range of programmes and an inclusive financial assistance model, Bloomsbury Football ensures that every young person in London can access the life changing power of football.

ABOUT MOMENTUM ON 

Founded in 2023, the creative duo Martha Omasoro and Jade Keshia Gordan teamed up during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to capture the joy, excitement and anticipation that surrounded the tournament. Their work continues to celebrate the women’s game and highlights the need for more representation of the sport to inspire the next generation of female athletes.