Women’s football campaign achieves success around the world

Die FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ showed how much women’s football has grown in all parts of the world with the support of the world football governing body. A host of new nations impressed, and for the first time countries from all six confederations secured victories during the tournament. This growth on the pitch underlines FIFA’s continued investment in the women’s game and is sure to increase when the tournament takes place in South America for the first time Brazil the world in 2027 welcomes. The tournament coincides with FIFA’s stated goal of encouraging 60 million girls and women worldwide to play football by 2027. FIFA, together with Member Associations (MAs), has worked hard to encourage and increase participation. One of the most important Programs to promote women’s football of FIFA, from which the member associations benefit, is the Women’s football campaign. An initiative that works with Goal 1 (Development and Growth) of the FIFA women’s football strategy (2018-2027) is in harmony.

In essence, it should Women’s football campaign encourage member associations in all parts of the world to increase participation at youth level. This is usually done by the respective member associations working with FIFA to run grassroots events and create a space for free play where players can feel included, have fun and be inspired. From Tahiti to Puerto Rico, from Honduras to Ecuador and from Kenya to Laos, 2024 has highlighted the diversity of culturally diverse associations that have worked hand in hand with FIFA to provide social and inclusive opportunities to like-minded children, football in one to experience pleasant surroundings.

Inside FIFA introduces some of the countries that have already been successful this year Women’s football campaign have benefited.

Logistical challenges were overcome as FIFA supported women’s football campaign events in Tahiti and youth traveled from remote islands in French Polynesia. Participants came to the festival not only from the main island of Tahiti, but also from the neighboring island of Mo’orea and the even more distant Marquesas Islands and the Leeward Islands. The increased activity comes as Tahiti reached a new high of third place at last year’s OFC U-16 Women’s Championship.

Puerto Rico hosted a series of festivals as part of the women’s football campaign in June 2024 and will host more in December this year. By the end of the year, around 1,000 girls from the Caribbean country are expected to have taken part in the festivals.

Majorie Martínez, Director of Women’s Football at the Puerto Rican Football Association, hopes that the events will motivate many participants to continue playing the game: “This women’s football festival is the perfect event to further learn about the sport. They can get to know and interact with players from our national team and student-athletes from the various universities in Puerto Rico so that the girls can see themselves, identify with them and continue to fall in love with the sport.”

The women’s football campaign was very active in Honduras, holding festivals over four months – in July, August, September and October. The FIFA League Development Program is also used in Honduras. The ambitious Central American country has launched strong initiatives to further develop women’s football.

The Ecuador Football Federation (FEF) has combined the Women’s Football Campaign Festivals and FIFA’s League Development Program in 2024 to maximize their impact and discover and monitor female talent in the country. This is particularly timely as the South American nation celebrates its first in October FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ participates. The FEF ensured a wide geographical spread of activities with festivals in Esmeraldas (June), Santa Elena (July), Riobamba (October) and Ibarra (October) and involved 150 participants per festival. This is the second time Ecuador has benefited from the FIFA women’s football campaign. In 2023, the FEF held football festivals in the capital Quito. “We as the Ecuadorian Football Association hope to take advantage of all the programs offered by FIFA to promote women’s football,” said Tatiana Burgos, Development Coordinator of the Ecuadorian Football Association, recently at the FIFA regional workshop for women’s football in Bogotá. “She [die Teilnehmerinnen] are always very excited about making their dreams come true.”

Mid-year was a busy time in Kenya, with festivals taking place in Embu and Samburu County and Busia hosting a large event in August. The women’s football campaign was successfully launched in the East African nation in 2023. After several years of joint efforts, the Kenya Football Association has been honored with its first participation in a global women’s tournament at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup rewarded.

The Lao Football Association organized its first women’s football campaign in the capital Vientiane in September. The turnout was great: around 240 girls between the ages of 8 and 16 took part in the fun. Players from the Lao women’s national team were also there to interact with the young people. Mohammed Herman Zaliana, Head of Coach Training Department of the Lao Football Association, said: “In addition to the five-a-side football matches, a highlight of the campaign was the opportunity to get autographs from the players and coaches of the Lao women’s national team, whose presence inspires more girls to play football could. We want to hold more events like this to get more girls interested in football. Thank you to FIFA for the support and joy it has brought to these young girls.”