THE number of women and girls playing football in Scotland has doubled over the last five years, figures show.
The total number of female players registered with the Scottish Football Association has risen from 7126 in 2014-15 to 14,071 in 2018-19. The figure has been rising each year, with the latest total showing 1869 more women and girls registered with the SFA compared to the previous year. In 2017-18, there were 12,202 women and girls registered with the SFA.
Earlier this week, a record crowd of 18,555 turned up at Hampden to support the Scotland women’s national team in a friendly against Jamaica. The game, which Scotland won 3-2, was the team’s final match before heading to the World Cup in France, where they will play England in their opening tie in Nice on June 9. After the Jamaica match,
Shelley Kerr’s team were congratulated by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, tennis coach Judy Murray and Scotland men’s national manager Steve Clarke.
Funding was provided to the team by the Scottish Government to allow manager Shelley Kerr’s squad to train full-time in the build-up to the tournament.
SNP MSP Gail Ross said: “The women’s game in Scotland is flourishing both at a professional level and at the grassroots, with the number of girls playing for a local football team doubling in the past five years.
“Shelley Kerr has done a fantastic job to take a Scotland team to a World Cup and this generation of players has breathed real excitement into the sport. The country is buzzing to cheer on our national team at the Women’s World Cup, and with more and more women and girls playing football, there’s a bright future for our national team and women’s game.”
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