On the ball

TEENAGER Laura Clark is mad about football. The 15-year-old Leeds United supporter, known as Clarkie to her friends, is so superstitious she has to perform a 17-step good-luck ritual before every match. The North Yorkshire youngster is a regular pen pal of her footballing idol David Batty and her encyclopaedic knowledge of the club extends almost as far as knowing the names of the men who mark the white lines on the pitch at Elland Road.

So it is understandable that someone whose enthusiasm as a supporter is matched only by her ability as a player, would feel frustrated by the lack of opportunities for girls to play the sport.

Clarkie is one of a growing number of young women finding themselves unable to play competitively beyond junior school.

And yet women's football is the fastest growing sport in the UK - and some of the keenest supporters are among the young.

City of York Council is responding to the trend by teaming up with the Football Association to launch a new sports initiative, Girls' Opportunities at All Levels, or GOAL, to create more girls' sections at junior clubs.

The council hopes to start up more training sessions like the weekly one run by York City Football Club - attended by Clarkie and 20 other girls - at Lowfields School, Acomb, on Thursday evenings.

Inside the school's sports hall, the air is charged with enthusiasm as the girls, aged between nine and 16, train under the guidance of York City youth coaches Stephanie and Deryck Dobson and Janine Buck.

For many, this will be the only chance they have all week to take part in the sport they love.

A lot of the girls have played football since they were old enough to kick one and took part equally with boys at junior level. But they found themselves up against a sudden brick wall when they moved on to secondary education.

Clarkie, who is a pupil at Tadcaster Grammar School, said: "I was gutted. I'd been playing for three years, playing in cups, and all of a sudden there was nowhere to go."

Faye Woodhead, 14, who goes to Bootham School, York, used to play for Knaresborough Celtic but, when she reached secondary school age, found that she could only play on a week-by-week basis if the male players agreed. Now her efforts to play football during her breaks at school are hampered by the kilt she has to wear as part of her school uniform.

Michelle Morgan, 14, a pupil at Joseph Rowntree School, York, is a Manchester United supporter and has been playing football since she was four years old.

"It's not that I want to be a boy," she said, "that's not why I play football.

"I think a sport should be for everyone."

Hannah Dunshire, 15, a Tadcaster Grammar School pupil, said: "The sports girls are expected to play, like netball, are non-contact, but with football you can really get in there and when you beat the lads it's great."

There are 45,000 registered female football players and 2,000 registered clubs in the UK and the Football Association is aiming to create an official women's football league by 2003.

Thanks to Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed, Fulham now employs the country's first professional female footballers and the England women's football team has just qualified for Euro 2001.

An increasing number of season ticket holders are female and grounds are dedicated to promoting a more family-friendly atmosphere.

So why is it so difficult for women to break into the sport as players?

Livvy Hanks, 13, said: "A lot of girls don't play because they don't know where to start."

Stephanie Dobson, who used to coach the York City women's team, says it's time for change.

"I got into football because a lot of other girls were playing it and this was 25 years ago," she said. "A few years ago, I met a woman who was 84 and said she used to play in the inter-factory football matches when she was young.

"It's time there were more opportunities. Anything that brings women's football forward is good."

Mark Wilson, community leisure officer with York Leisure Office, said that under the GOAL initiative there should be more resources for girls' football.

He said: "Local clubs can receive a range of resources, including training goals and access to subsidised coaching awards.

"Many schools in York have told us that more girls are taking up the sport and are looking for somewhere to play. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in all sports and we want to help local clubs to give these players a sporting chance."

- If you want to get involved in the GOAL scheme contact Mark Wilson on 01904 553405.