"To me, Premier League Kicks is a community"- Palace at the Premier League Kicks Cup
Four days before the victorious Lionesses retained the UEFA European Championships last weekend, girls representing professional football clubs across the country travelled to England's training centre at St George's Park for the experience of a lifetime.
They were taking part in this year’s Premier League Kicks Cup girls tournament, an event that celebrates the year-round work of Premier League Kicks and highlights how the programme provides opportunities for young females to play the game.
The teams were able to follow in the footsteps of their Lionesses heroes as they wore the kit of their professional football club and took part in fixtures refereed by Premier League, English Football League and Women’s Super League match officials.
One of our Palace representatives was Harmony-Rose. She said:
“It’s a really great opportunity to be here. Seeing the number of people makes me feel like women’s football is definitely on the rise and makes me feel happy that there’s so many girls getting an opportunity to play football.
“I’ve been with Premier League Kicks for five years. I was really bad at first. I couldn’t kick the ball straight. I continued going and I got better. Now I’m one of the oldest there and I’m helping other people come in.
“I was nervous that first time but I soon realised that everyone was really friendly and welcoming. All of the coaches were so accommodating. It was a place where you speak freely.
“I wasn’t really that confident but this gave me the ability to speak to people. Having confidence helps you play. If you think you can do it, there’s a higher chance you can do it. I am very proud of myself that I have changed. I’m really thankful to Premier League Kicks for bringing me up in this way.
“To me, Premier League Kicks is a community. It’s like a whole other bubble, a whole other world.”
For more information on Premier League Kicks, head here.
And for girls football, head here.