As a teenage girl it is one thing playing in a tournament with a star-studded name like the ‘Alessia Russo Cup’ but it is another to glance along the touchline and see the two-time Euro winner watching on. Well, 180 girls aged between 12-14 had the opportunity to do just that.
Even before Russo and the crew of cameras and entourage arrived it was high energy, noisy and most importantly, the players were having fun at an age when the drop-off in sports participation among girls is at its highest. A Public First report commissioned by Sky, Game Changing: How sport gives every girl a better chance, found that girls aged 11-18 miss out on 280 million hours of sport annually compared to boys.
This is the vision Russo shared with Goals 4 Girls and Sky – to level the playing field for girls in sport.
The Arsenal and England player knows the impact could be transformational: “I was saying before to my family, it’s been a long work in progress, and luckily we’ve had amazing people help with the whole journey, but to be here today is really nice.
“This is the day that you enjoy after all the work’s been put in. This is where you can come out, see all the girls, enjoy the tournament, and yeah, just celebrate youth football.”
By then Russo and I counted 15 cameras and a crowd of girls around six or seven deep, desperate to get a glimpse of their hero. This adulation, a foundation in her name brings back the memories of when she lined up to get her picture with the Arsenal player Kelly Smith as a child and you get a glimpse into a younger Russo when she only half jokes, “they’re making me look a bit shy behind the camera”.
She added: “It is so important to know that you can achieve. Also having role models, people that you can look up to and can see yourself in and I hope that these girls have that. Even if today maybe a couple of girls have seen that, then that’s amazing to me. Making sure they have support around them and know football’s for them because we want everyone to be playing.”
Chislehurst School for Girls were the winners of the inaugural tournament. Their enthusiasm and love of football radiated from the players who got to meet their hero and a chance to do a post-match interview – assured, confident and happy as they celebrated – but this partnership is about far more than finding the next batch of superstars.
Football gave Russo the trophies and medals but far more – the less tangible but so important like confidence, resilience, and leadership the real-life skills. Things may have turned out differently had she not had the people around her at these girls age – the coaches, family and friends who gave her the encouragement and confidence to follow her dream when others decided football and sports wasn’t for them.
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Lioness and Arsenal forward Russo launched the first Alessia Cup in north London. Over 180 girls took part in the tournament and Goals 4 Girls CEO Francesca Brown highlighted the impact of the tournament
The Arsenal Champions League winner reflected on how much she “loves playing football but also loves all that it’s taught me. It taught me how to work hard, how to be a good team-mate, how to drive your own standards and if these girls can take that into their lives, whether it be football or not, that’s really important because there’s so much value that comes with being a part of a team.”
Russo’s aim along with Goals 4 Girls, a London-based charity empowering girls through football and powered by Sky, are hoping that other barriers can be tackled such as low confidence, poor body image, limited representation and lack of role models which could unlock £6.5bn in health benefits in 10 years’ time.
We talk about the moment my five-year-old, who plays football every Saturday, looked at the television and asked where the boys were. Russo smiles. “When I was a kid, I had to physically be in the stadium to watch the game and it’s not always that easy. So now these girls can play their own games and then go home and watch a big football match of top teams competing against each other. That’s so important. It’s so nice to have that visibility. When you can feel it and you can see a bit of yourself in them, it’s really important.”
Russo has some big plans for where her foundation and tournament go next, not perhaps quite as big as where her footballing career will lead her. For now, she must concentrate on one of the biggest games of the season as Arsenal look to close the gap on the league leaders Chelsea on Saturday by ending their 32-game unbeaten run in the WSL.
There will be a few extra faces at the Emirates as the Chislehurst School for Girls’ victorious team will be back in their more traditional role of watching on as fans – their prize for winning is to reverse the roles and cheer on their hero.
