This Saturday 29 April marked the end of the Oxfordshire U13 Girls Football League. The Summertown Stars’ Jaguars played the strong Headington Youth Blues in a thrilling game. 

 

The Jaguars gained an early lead with a goal in the first 3 minutes, but the Blues put up a good fight, scoring an incredible goal a few minutes later. Before the end of the first half the Jaguars took the lead and played brilliantly until the end of the match to come out victorious and finish the Oxfordshire Girls league’s first division at the top. The runner-up was Summertown Star’s Meerkats followed by Barton United in third place. The winner of the Oxfordshire league’s second division was also a Summertown team - the Dragons -  and the winner of the third division was Wantage Town FC.

 

It’s incredible how much women's grassroots football in England has grown and developed through the years. 30 years ago, the Oxfordshire girls’ football league used to be just U16 girls playing friendly 7v7 matches once a month but now, it has grown to provide weekly football for 1500 girls from 48 clubs.

 

Take Summertown Stars, for instance, which is an FA-recognised Charter Standard Community Club located in North Oxford. It has 19 female teams across all age groups. Virtually all age groups from U9 to U15 have at least two girls’ teams. The year group with the most girls is the U13s, with 3 teams - all of whom have done outstandingly this season in The Oxfordshire Girls Football League.

 

Adoption and support for women's football has changed a lot in the last 30 years. The England Lionesses’ victory in the UEFA championship last year is a witness of that and with the increasing support from the FA and our society to grassroot girls football we are hopeful there will be many more victories to come.

 

From England’s Lionesses to Oxford’s Jaguars, there is no doubt that women’s football is a roaring success!