The interest in football for girls has been phenomenal with more teams joining every year. There is a real mix of playing abilities and standards continue to improve every year. The depth of talent in our students, as Women’s Football in Manchester Schools grows in strength and popularity, is demonstrated by the demand to take part.
There are 2 different types of participation on offer and when entering schools may select which is most appropriate:
EXCEL:- League system which is competitive and results are recorded, creating league tables which are published. For 2022/23 teams are entered into one league; after the last week of matches, the top placed teams go forward to the Manchester Finals day.
INSPIRE:- This format is designed to encourage participation at a lower level of performance, There are no league tables or results published, however, results are kept for monitoring purposes only. Inspire teams also attend at central venues, although the focus is on enjoyment and participation, not the result.
SECONDARY GIRLS FOOTBALL 2022-23 LEAGUES
At Key Stage 3 there are 40 teams (15 Excel & 25 Inspire) (33 in total in 2021/22)
At KS4 there are 24 teams (10 Excel & 14 Inspire) (20 in total in 2021/22).
The girls meet 5 times each year at both key stages, with fixtures being organised at the central venues of Wright Robinson College, St. Paul’s RCHS and Whalley Range HS. The KS3 Finals are held at Wright Robinson in April, with the KS4 finals held in March at MCFC Training Ground and include the Excel Finals and Inspire Festival.
Historical Data
The table below shows the number of teams taking part in league football for girls
| 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 | |
| KS3 | 24 | 30 | 29 | 31 | 40 |
| KS4 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 24 |
| Totals | 39 | 48 | 50 | 49 | 64 |
With each team averaging 10 players within their squad, we can safely estimate that there are over 640 girls playing Football in our secondary schools. More than 500 fixtures will be played during the Autumn and Spring terms at both Key Stages.
SECONDARY FOOTBALL CUP
Manchester Cup 2022/23
In addition to the leagues there are also knockout cups for boys and girls.
In the knockout cup provision for boys, a total of 130 teams compete during the year, aiming for the right to call themselves Manchester Champions. The entry for each year group is as follows:
Year 7: 27 teams
Year 8: 25
Year 9: 26
Year 10: 25
Year 11: 23
In the knockout cup provision for girls, a total of 73 teams compete during the year, aiming for the right to call themselves Manchester Champions. The entry for each year group is as follows:
Year 7: 16 teams
Year 8: 16
Year 9: 15
Year 10: 15
Year 11: 12
Historical Data
The post Covid period saw numbers drop, but they are back up again with a record number of entries for the girls competitions, as the data below shows:
BOYS
| Year | 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 |
| 7 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 27 |
| 8 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 25 |
| 9 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 21 | 26 |
| 10 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 25 |
| 11 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 23 |
| Totals | 124 | 127 | 128 | 108 | 126 |
GIRLS
| Year | 2018 – 2019 | 2019 – 2020 | 2020 – 2021 | 2021 – 2022 | 2022 – 2023 |
| 7 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 8 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 |
| 9 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 15 |
| 10 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 15 |
| 11 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| Totals | 68 | 70 | 71 | 70 | 76 |
With each team averaging 15 players within their squad, we can safely estimate that there are over 3000 players involved in the Manchester Cup across both genders, representing the 202 teams who have entered this year. By the end of March 2023, more than 197 games will have been played to decide who has the honour of calling themselves Manchester Champions this year.