LFC Foundation host football festival
The Liverpool FC Foundation hosted an all-girls football festival at the Select Security Stadium ahead of Liverpool Ladies' first Women's Super League clash of the season on Wednesday night.
Prior to the 2-1 defeat to Sunderland, eight sides from the Cheshire County FA and eight from the Liverpool County FA took part in a tournament across U12 and U14 age categories.
After the competition, players engaged in a short Q&A session with Liverpool Ladies players Ashley Hodson and Katrin Omarsdottir, before taking their seats in the stands to enjoy the night's action.
The Reds' foundation delivers a Women and Girls Programme, which aims to increase access to high-quality football coaching for females of any age across the city region.
Currently, 12 satellite sessions are running in local schools and community centres. From these sessions, Liverpool FC Foundation community coaches are able to identify key talent and encourage players into grassroots teams locally.
Andrea Cooper, head of the Liverpool FC Foundation, said: "This tournament provided a great experience for all the youngsters participating and showed them what can be achieved through a successful career in football.
"In partnership with the Premier league we are passionate about encouraging more women and girls to get involved in football and have access to high-quality, accessible coaching locally.
"Our Women and Girls Programme has been a success since its launch last year and we are hoping for it to continue to grow. On behalf of the foundation, I hope all the teams enjoyed the competition, atmosphere and experience."
Volunteers from LFC Foundation's Football College, who were on hand to referee the tournament, will receive funding from the foundation to study their FA Level 1 Referee Course as a thank-you.