Women's World Cup aims to shed light on Cambridgeshire grassroots funding
England play Spain in the final today
A women's footballer in Cambridgeshire believes England's run to the World Cup final could be the boost needed for more funding at grassroots level.
The Lionesses face Spain in the Women’s World Cup showpiece at 11am today, as both teams go in search of their first ever world crown.
Leah plays for Whittlesey Athletic Ladies and she thinks there’s more to do to help the women’s game:
“It (the Women’s World Cup) has showcased what women’s football is about that has never been showcased on the platforms it has been, especially this tournament,” she said.
“The fact there are more opportunities and more investment put into the women’s game, that’s coming through, but it’s not where it should be and not on that equal par.
“For me, I think that’s what needs to happen.”
The government's investing more than £300 million across the UK to improve grassroots facilities between 2021 and 2025 to help give more people a chance to play sport.
Across England the government is investing £64 million, working alongside its Football Foundation partners the Premier League and the FA, to build and upgrade 1,600 grassroots sports sites this year to level up access to high quality sports facilities.
Emma also plays for Whittlesey Athletic Ladies:
“It’s grown so much in the last couple of years, I think we probably wanted that when we were at youth level,” she said.
“The World Cup is helping people support the game but I wish we had it when we were younger.
“Even in grassroots there were so many people that were young that weren’t playing and wanted to play, and you’ve seen the growth since the Euros so I think it will only go up from there.”