A football club has hosted a special event celebrating female athletes and the future of women’s sport.
Brighton and Hove Albion organised the International Women’s Day gathering on Tuesday March 10, at Rockwater, bringing together leading voices in women’s sport to celebrate athlete stories, champion leadership and highlight the continued progress being made across elite performance pathways.
The event highlighted the continued progress being made across elite performance pathways, with a turnout of 160 guests on Rockwater’s roof terrace, including members of the women’s first team, board representatives, local councillors and influential businesses.
Albion striker Madison Haley said: "It’s really important that we engage with the local community and get more young girls moving, going to football games and seeing people who are like them, who are role models and successful.
"You don’t have to be the biggest football fan, but it’s important to see women push themselves and have that comradery."
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Attendees included captain Maisie Symonds, Fran Kirby, Jelena Cankovic, Sophie Baggaley and Rebecca Rayner.
A panel Q&A featured Kirby, Cankovic and Symonds, who reflected on their personal journeys in the game.
The session also included prize giveaways and interactive moments with supporters.
In partnership with Nike, champion sprinter Renee Regis and her mother, Olympic bronze medallist Jennifer Stoute, joined guests for an inspiring Q&A session.
Ms Stoute said: "Having my girls, Renne and Alicia, in sport has given them a different type of resilience.
"It has allowed them to be strong and to make great decisions for themselves, because sport gives you that inner strength."
Ms Regis said: "There is still such a division between men’s and women’s sports, so if we could bridge that gap and get more people to watch all sport, it could encourage more women to try something new. When you start to watch sport, you’re able to zone into what you want to do."
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