This Sunday is International Women's Day and to mark the event, we are taking a look at how Premier League-funded community programmes create opportunities for girls and young women to play, learn and lead.
We also work to create inclusive environments with young people to look at how we can all tackle gender inequality.
Each year, more than 100,000 girls and young women take part in Premier League community programmes, funding for which is distributed to football club charities via the Premier League Foundation, gaining confidence, skills and positive experiences both on and off the pitch.
Together, these community programmes are expanding pathways for girls and young women across the country, ensuring more young people can benefit from the power of football.
Premier League Primary Stars, for example, provides opportunities for aspiring female footballers to play the game and improve their skills through its annual Premier League Primary Stars National Football Tournament.
The two-day event, featuring girls and mixed teams, is the culmination of months of regional competitions across England and Wales and aims to raise the profile of girls football in schools.
"We would have thought about taking part in something like this only in our dreams... but those dreams have come true," said Zara, whose school represented Ipswich Town Foundation in the 2025 finals at Molineux. "Being at an event like this gives me hope. If I can achieve this, I can achieve other things in the future.
"I know what I'm capable of now. I am very proud of myself and I feel like I can do a lot more than I thought I would be able to."
Jordanna Roberts is Premier League Primary Stars manager for Manchester United Foundation and, having taken teams to numerous national football tournaments, knows the impact they have on the participants.
"It is a day that the participants will never forget and neither will their families," she said. "It's an amazing experience for them to think, 'I've made it.' It's just unbelievable. This event shows that everyone's exactly the same. Girls should be treated like the boys and that's exactly what's happening here."
Former England, Arsenal, Reading and Brighton footballer Danielle Carter was a special guest at the 2024 Premier League Primary Stars finals at Brentford FC's Gtech Community Stadium and said the tournament helps to raise aspirations for those taking part.
"This tournament is massive for promoting girls' football," she said. "It helps everyone realise that it doesn't make any difference if you're a boy or a girl, everyone can play.
"Wearing Premier League shirts and being in a big stadium, it gives them that feeling that they are good enough. Today will make them feel like superstars and it gives them a taste of what can come if they work hard."
Girls football provision as well as potential employment and coaching pathways are also accessible through the Premier League Kicks programme, which for the last 20 years has worked in underserved areas to regularly engage young people in football, sport, mentoring and personal development opportunities.
Bella from Sheffield United started at Premier League Kicks as a participant when looking for girls-only football sessions.
Six years on, Bella is volunteering on the programme and is a role model and mentor to the next generation of female footballers. Her aim is to become a full-time member of staff at the Sheffield United Community Foundation and to run her own Premier League Kicks sessions.
"I was once that kid playing and now I'm being able to pass on my knowledge and my experience to younger girls," she says. "To be able to have the opportunity to step into those roles, to be able to become a little girl's mentor, is really empowering."
"Premier League Kicks has made a big difference to me. I've gained so much confidence, I've gained lifelong friends and the staff are just amazing. I'm really proud that I've come this far."
Like with Premier League Primary Stars, a two-day Premier League Kicks Cup takes place every summer to celebrate the support and guidance that women and girls' football participation receives all year round.
"Premier League Kicks and tournaments like this gives them a sense of purpose, a sense of why they do it," says Merle Redhead Ling, girls and school provision officer at Millwall Community Trust, who took a girls Under-16 team to St. George's Park for the Premier League Kicks Cup last year. "It shows them what they are capable of.
"Being around other girls from across the country gives them not only targets on and off the pitch, it gives them a football family. It's amazing knowing that I've coached some of these girls since they were 10. I'm with them every Wednesday and they have come so far just to represent themselves, represent Millwall, represent women in general for Premier League Kicks especially."
Premier League Inspires helps young people at risk of not reaching their potential to prepare for further education and employment through a series of face-to-face mentoring sessions, workshops and social-action projects.
One of the 40,000+ young people that have participated in the programme since its launch in 2019 is Amelia, a Sunderland season-ticket holder who found school difficult due to mental health struggles.
With the help of mentoring and support from Amber Durrant, a Premier League Inspires tutor at Sunderland's Foundation of Light, Amelia has rebuilt her confidence and connection with school.
"When I look at Amelia, I'm so proud of the progress she's made," Amber says. "She always says hello to me when we're in the corridors and she's always laughing and giggling with her friends whenever I pass her. I'm proud of how she can sit in front of a camera and speak about her own progress and how happy she is in school and how much she wants to attend."
Girls and young women on the Premier League Kicks and Premier League Inspires programmes also have the opportunity to develop life skills, confidence and explore career opportunities in football through the Premier League Changemakers leadership activity.
Premier League Changemakers, which is delivered by 43 football club charities, involves workshops and social-action projects focused on accelerating action, youth voice and gender equality.
"Being a Premier League Changemaker means that I can show other people that football isn't just about boys," says Seraiah from Charlton Athletic Community Trust, who took part in Premier League Changemakers last year. "It helps me achieve my ambitions.
"It helps young girls find and use their voices. It shows them what they're capable of and how to overcome difficulties. I want to show others how women's football inspires young women to play and help them overcome their fears of playing football."
Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper and now solicitor, journalist and podcaster Chloe Morgan has been a huge advocate of the Premier League Changemakers programme.
Last year she donated her 2017 Spurs shirt to the National Football Museum which had been signed by 12-to-15-year-olds taking part in Premier League Changemakers.
"Programmes like this are so important," she said. "When you're 14 or 15 years old and you are being heard, being asked for your opinion, being asked to engage in a drama workshop, being involved in signing a shirt that's going to be in the National Football Museum, being told that your voices matter, that your experiences matter, that's absolutely huge. It's empowerment."
To find out more about the Premier League's support for women and girls football, click here.