Inspiring inclusion on International Women’s Day

International Women's Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Under the main theme of 'Investing in women: Accelerate progress', the Fund is delighted to spotlight Barnard Castle Youth Football Club for having the foresight to invest in girls as they develop into young women.

Each year, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done. Here at King Charles III Charitable Fund, we are committed to supporting women in the UK, Commonwealth and internationally. Our funding helps to transform lives and inspire inclusion.

This year’s campaign theme – Inspire Inclusion – underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality. It calls for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected. Inspire Inclusion encourages everyone to recognise the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from marginalised communities.

The Fund supported Barnard Castle Youth Football Club with a small grant in 2022 enabling the club to establish a team for girls to play football in a safe and supportive environment. Many of these girls may not have played football before and they now have the chance to regularly exercise, socialise and enjoy team sports.

30 girls have joined the club, training and playing football twice a week. This has proved to be very popular and the training group continues to grow. The club hopes to soon field a team for inclusion in the local grassroots competitive leagues.

KCCF support has helped to advertise the new team and training times; hire an all-weather pitch for training during the winter months; buy goalposts, provide footballs, strips, training tops and bibs for the girls; buy training equipment to use and cover the training costs for 2 coaches.

A parent of one of the girls taking part said

‘Our daughter was so excited when we saw the Facebook advert for girls’ football last summer. She has certainly not been disappointed. Every week she enthusiastically runs round to join her friends, none of whom she knew before joining the club. She thoroughly enjoys the sessions which have a good balance between fun and learning skills to help her improve. The coaches are equally as enthusiastic. It’s great to see them as they support the girls in the activities each week. It would be great to see them getting a little team together in the future.’

We look forward to seeing the girls at Barnard Castle Youth Football Club continue to grow and inspire inclusion for years to come.

Happy International Women’s Day!