England Netball pledge to get women in Liverpool active

England Netball has launched a new community netball project based in the World Cup’s host city of Liverpool. ‘Together We Will’ aims to get women over 16 years old within lower socio-economic areas of Liverpool, involved in physical activity.

Focused on four wards within Liverpool; Everton, Anfield, Kirkdale and Clubmoor, the initiative aims to engage over 1,000 participants, volunteers and coaches. These areas have been targeted following research by Liverpool City Council which found that 73% of women within these areas of the city are currently inactive.

The project, which has received a £75k funding award from the Sport England Major Events Engagement Fund, will also receive support from a number of key partners, including Liverpool City Council, Everton & Liverpool Foundation, Liverpool John Moores University and Liverpool ONE.

The funding award for this project is in addition to the £19.7m of funding from Sport England to England Netball between 2017-21.

Phil Smith, Director of Sport at Sport England said: “We’re delighted to support England Netball to deliver the ‘Together We Will’ project and hope that it inspires many women in Liverpool to become more active and rediscover a love of sport and physical activity.

“Sport England believes in the power of sport to transform lives. This project is uniquely designed to give women in four inner-city Liverpool wards, all within a couple of miles of the World Cup venue, an opportunity to change their lives through netball. England Netball’s commitment to offering sport alongside personal development sessions is genuinely exciting, and we look forward to celebrating the success of the project alongside a memorable World Cup.”

With the Vitality Netball World Cup taking place in Liverpool this July and 102,000 tickets sold for the tournament, the city centre is set to become a hive of netball activity. ‘Together We Will’ will also become another piece in the jigsaw in England Netball’s Biggest Summer of Netball campaign; a campaign designed to get more women and girls across the country playing netball this summer.

Regular netball sessions will take place in local children’s centres, parks and community facilities, with the focus not only on developing skills within the sport, but also developing the individual’s socialisation and life skills.

More than 100 women have already registered their interest in attending these weekly sessions, which encourage a community ethos whereby women can meet other likeminded people, have some time to themselves, take part in a tailored netball session and select a personal development session relevant to their lives, such as nutrition and healthy eating workshops.

CEO of England Netball, Joanna Adams, was keen to express the importance of giving back to the host city’s community initiative. She said: “It is the perfect time for us to be targeting Liverpool as it is this year’s Vitality Netball World Cup host city. It is a huge summer for the sport and a great way to inspire women to get active and have a go at netball. Thank you to everyone who is helping to make this project possible, which will make a big difference to many women in Liverpool.”

Details on how to find your closest session can be found on the ‘Together We Will’ Facebook page or by emailing jewel.uchegbu@englandnetball.co.uk