As female football in the country continues to grow in terms of popularity, HMH are embracing the trend by increasing their own offering of girls and women’s football in the Jewish community
The Maccabi GB-affiliated club welcome girls from under-eight through to U16, with approximately 50 girls playing across the various age groups. Hayley Begner, HMH’s club coordinator for their U5-U11’s, is delighted with the increasing number. She explained: “We’re really proud that this season we’ve added three new age groups to our girls’ football provision, following a huge influx of interest from girls wanting to get involved.
“The numbers we have are fantastic to see and our aim is to continue building that pathway so that girls can start playing from a young age and continue playing confidently throughout their teenage years.
“We’ve already had interest from local clubs wanting to join us, which is really exciting and we hope it will continue to grow. We are the only Maccabi GB-affiliated club whose girls’ section plays on Sundays, so we wanted to make sure that was offered across all ages for girls.”
The club holds weekly training sessions, with each team having their own dedicated professional coach alongside a volunteer manager. Teams then play matches on Sundays, competing in the Girls’ Super League. In addition to that, the younger girls, those competing in the U8 and U9s have their own monthly Sunday provision, as there currently isn’t an U8 Sunday division for them to enter.
“We also pride ourselves on being able to offer something for girls of all abilities,” Begner said.
“Of course it’s great to win games, but that isn’t the only measure of success for us. We want girls to be able to come along, try football and enjoy themselves without feeling that they have to be immediately ready for competitive football. For those who aren’t quite ready for matches, we can offer training-only opportunities.
“Our philosophy is simple: Play, Grow and Belong. We want girls to have the opportunity to play, develop their skills and confidence. It’s also about creating a community where they feel they belong in a proudly Jewish environment, and most importantly feel that they belong.”
Acknowledging how the explosion of interest and participation in the women’s game has been reciprocated in the community, Begner said: “Since the success of the England Lionesses, we’ve seen a really positive influence on young girls wanting to get involved in football.
“Football has traditionally been seen as a predominantly male sport, but the increased visibility and success of women’s football, alongside social media, has helped girls see that football is for them too. It has made female footballers more visible and, importantly, given young girls role models they can identify with.
“And within our Jewish community, we’re also fortunate to have some fantastic role models who have gone on to represent Team GB, as part of Maccabi GB’s international games delegations, including former HMH players. That gives our younger girls the opportunity to see a pathway that feels both achievable and relevant to them.”
Begner, who is always on the lookout for more players to join HMH, continued: “There’s no expectation other than to come along and enjoy yourself. We have something available for girls of different ages and abilities, and we’re lucky to have wonderful parent-volunteer managers who are positive, encouraging and motivating. The social side is hugely important too.
“The girls have formed great friendships, and many have joined this season without knowing anyone else.
“Creating a welcoming environment where girls feel comfortable and included is really important to us. We have a fantastic clubhouse at our home ground in Finchley, which is a safe space that the kids can enjoy socialising in before or after training and matches.
“Our managers work closely with the professional coaches to help the girls develop their skills and become more confident on the ball, but we also want them to develop confidence off the pitch.
“Ultimately, we want girls to play, grow and belong-to enjoy football, develop as players and people, make new friends and work as a team and feel that they have a place within the club.”
To illustrate her belief that the club can act us a pathway for female footballers to realise their dream, to become “Lionesses” of their own and represent their country on the international stage, Begner said: “We’ve already seen former HMH players go on to represent the Team Maccabi GB at the Maccabiah Games, so our girls can see that this really is an achievable pathway.
“One of our aims going into this season was to attract girls from a younger age, so that by the time they reach 14 or 15, they are already involved in football, have developed their confidence and, importantly, want to continue playing through their teenage years.
“There is a well-documented drop-off in girls’ participation in sport during the teenage years, so retaining girls at that stage is something we’re particularly passionate about.
“We want to create an environment where they feel that football remains part of their lives.
“If we can provide that pathway from their first experience of football through to teenage football and potentially, one day, representing Team GB at a Maccabi Games, then that’s something we would be incredibly proud of.”
To find out more, email: office@hmhjyc.org
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