WHAT do Mickey and Minnie Mouse and football have in common? The answer to that question was given this week when Uefa announced the Playmakers project in partnership with Disney to get young girls fit and playing football.
I think it is an inspirational partnership that will definitely reap rewards. Using the film characters from Incredibles 2 for the first stage, the project will kick off in early spring. Scotland is one of only seven countries that will participate in this wonderful campaign, with Elastigirl, Violet, Mr Incredible and Dash bringing the film’s action scenes to life through movement, teamwork and imagination.
Uefa should be commended for putting the work into identifying the research that clearly helps them recognise the scale of the issue.
And the research clearly shows that there is work to do, not just in football but in sport in general as we know that sport is a great tool to get young girls fit and well to set up good habits for their future.
READ MORE: It’s great to see our sportswomen supporting each other
Some 84% of girls under 17 are not meeting global fitness guidelines and teenage girls are half as likely as boys to participate in sports.
Also, according to studies by the European Commission for Education, Sport, Youth and Culture, girls aged between 15 and 24 are half as likely to participate in sport as boys the same age.
There is so much innovation in sport now as governing bodies embrace different ways to encourage participation and support a more diverse base of recreational membership.
Reading about the Playmakers campaign makes me smile. I have a vision of Elsa, Mulan, Ariel and a host of others running about a park playing football and why not? We are trying to break down barriers here and not put people and in this case, young girls into any specific “box”.
Playmakers events will be very different from traditional training sessions as they will allow girls to play out scenes of their favourite Disney movies. They will be empowered to take on the character and roles of their favourite Disney heroes. This sounds like my kind of fun and I am sure every young girl in Scotland will love this new approach.
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