Weekly Newsletter from the National FA regarding Women and Girls Football stories

Uefa’s slogan for Euro 2013 ‘winning ground’ is proving to be a wise choice as crowds and viewing figures continue to watch some great women’s football matches.

Despite England’s disappointment on the pitch a new audience were able to watch the games and learn about the squad. Each of England’s three games were watched by over 1 million viewers on BBC2 and 3.

BBC Radio 5 Live had full match commentary for the matches and even the live text in-match online service had over 235,000 viewers for the games showing the benefits of the multi-platform approach.

Football fans are being given the chance to watch a top level women’s football tournament in its entirety on a terrestrial platform. Viewing figures remain high even after England’s exit with the France v Denmark match attracting an audience of 750,000 on BBC3.

In terms of ticket sales Euro 2013 has long since surpassed the Finland attendances of 129,000 total tickets sold. Tonight’s game between Sweden and Germany is unsurprisingly set to be a sell-out but many of the group games and knock-out stages have been the same including England’s final game against France.

Final 28 July 3.00pm GMT

The remaining English participant in the tournament is Assistant Referee, Sian Massey. Sian has already been Assistant in three matches: Norway v Iceland, Italy v Denmark and Sweden v Italy and is the reserve official for the Norway v Denmark match tomorrow. All 24 officials for the tournament are female.

England Women’s Seniors will begin their World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday 21 September in Bournemouth. The game will kick off at 1.00pm and be shown live on BBC.

Five days after the Belarus game, England will entertain Turkey in their second qualifier, a venue for which will be confirmed in due course.
Wales, Montenegro and Ukraine complete the Group 6 line-up.
Canada will stage the 2015 World Cup, which will have an increased pool of 24 teams

Following an England Women’s U19 final Training Camp from 30-31 July Mo Marley’s will select her squad of 18 to take to the UEFA Women’s Under 19 Finals in Wales.

The squad will meet at St George’s Park before heading to Wales on the 16 August.
England have been placed in Group A alongside hosts, Wales, France and Denmark. France’s squad will pose a particular threat to the team as the majority of players have progressed from the side that won the FIFA Women’s U17 tournament in 2012.
Wales are newcomers to the Finals and will hope the backing of home fans will drive them on in the tournament. Denmark’s performances have surprised even their coach as they are unbeaten in 10 games, Soren Randa-Bolt said; “If an Under-19 squad can be called experienced, then I think that applies to us as many of these players played last year’s finals.
England got through to the finals thanks to wins over Hungary and Norway after being stunned by a Serbia 5-4 win over the lionesses in their opening game.
England’s first match is against France at Camarthan’s Richmond Park stadium on Monday 19 August at 7.00pm. They face Wales at the same venue on Thursday 22 August and play their final game on Sunday 25 August at Parc y Scarlets (Llanelli).

Demand for the Wales v England game is expected to be high and tickets should be obtained in advance. For more on tickets and the rest of the tournament see: http://www.uefa.com/womensunder19


To round off a momentous 150th year, The FA will be hosting the UEFA Women’s Under 17 Championships Finals in England in November and December at venues around St. George’s Park.

The first round qualification has already begun with Italy and Switzerland through from their mini-tournament. Ten group winners and runners up along with one best 3rd placed side join top seeds Germany, France and Spain in the second qualifying round draw on 15 August.

The second stage qualifiers will be played from 20 September – 20 October. Seven teams will join England from these games and the Finals draw will be made on 24 October.
For more information on qualifiers and more visit www.uefa.com/womensunder17

The England Women’s Under 15 side meet for a training camp at St. Georges Park from
5th – 9th August 2013

Kay Cossington, only just back from coaching the BUCS GB women’s football team to a gold medal in the World University Games, explained the purpose of this camp:

“Every two years the U15 England Women squad begins a new cycle of players, with the previous players moving into the U17s squad if selected.

“Each cycle we see an improvement in the player’s technical and physical ability, which is credit to the work that is taking place in the FA Girls’ Centres of Excellence programme. The FA England Talent Pathway which consists of a 3 tier programme supports our talented female athlete’s development, which in turn improves the standard of our England Youth Teams”

FA WSL
BT Sport has announced the top matches it will show live from the FA Women’s Super League (FA WSL).
The first live game on BT Sport following the UEFA Women’s Euro 2013 will be the big clash between leaders Liverpool and two-times champions Arsenal at Halton Stadium on Saturday, August 3. Kick off is 7pm.
There will also be a weekly highlights show, starting at 6pm on August 6 and running for eight weeks until the season concludes in October.
Simon Green, director of BT Sport, said: “Fans of the FA WSL will be delighted with the tremendous line-up of exclusively live matches we’ve got in store at BT Sport.
“Starting with the current league leaders Liverpool Ladies taking on the current champions Arsenal Ladies, we are showing the best games live.
BT Sport is a founding partner for a new commercial programme for women’s football from 2014-18. In addition to the FA WSL, it has acquired rights for the England Women’s Senior Team and the FA Women’s Cup.
BT are also committed to making ‘women's sport’ a particular feature on their website which launches in early August, including women's football, with columns, interviews, comment pieces by and with the stars of the game.
FA WSL Exclusively Live Games on BT Sport 2013
Liverpool Ladies v Arsenal Ladies, August 3, KO 7pm
Bristol Academy Women v Liverpool Ladies, August 10, KO 7.45pm
Chelsea Ladies v Arsenal Ladies, August 29, KO 7.30pm
Liverpool Ladies v Everton Ladies, September 12, KO 7.30pm

Continental Cup Final, October 4, KO 7.30pm
Upcoming Fixtures
03.08.2013, Liverpool Ladies v Arsenal Ladies, 7.00pm
4.08.2013:
Chelsea Ladies v Doncaster Rovers Belles
Everton Ladies v Bristol Academy Women
Lincoln Ladies v Birmingham City Ladies