Young girls from across Bexleyheath are set to enjoy a football-filled summer thanks to a new programme run in conjunction with The FA.

SSE Wildcats has been designed to inspire girls aged between 5-11 to get involved in football, providing them with regular opportunities to play and take part in organised sessions in a fun and engaging environment created exclusively for girls.

SSE Wildcats Girls’ Football Clubs will run through the summer on a weekly basis, with Charlton’s Junior Reds FC among those to get involved – with numbers growing week on week.

Foster’s Primary School pupils Mia Johnson and Isabelle Marlin are among those to attend the sessions at Bexleyheath Academy, and the new programme is a big hit.

“I think the SSE Wildcats scheme is really fun, because we get to communicate with other girls, have a kick around and play lots of games,” said ten-year-old Johnson.

“Boys aren’t the only people that can play football. Girls can too, so this scheme shows boys that girls can do the same as them.

“We want to be professionals when we’re older because we enjoy it so much, and we think we can carry that on in life.”

Year five classmate Marlin added: “I’ve been playing football for three years.

“I think the SSE Wildcats scheme is really fun, and it’s so suitable for young girls.

“Everyone is so nice, they’re not rough at all and you can have lots of fun.”

The SSE Wildcats initiative follows the launch of The FA’s Gameplan for Growth, which outlines the aim to double girls’ participation in the sport by 2020.

And with more than 200 programmes having already been established up and down the country, Millwall Lionesses goalkeeper Grace Taylor insists the scheme could be start of something special.

“I think schemes like SSE Wildcats are really important in getting young girls to play football, because I think a lot of people still think that football is just for boys,” she said.

“Schemes like this help girls to just enjoy their football, it’s not too serious and allows them to mix with girls just like them.

“It’s great to have come down to watch this session, because we can show that girls can play football. We started at the same age as them and have worked hard to play at the level we do. Hopefully we have inspired them.

“I was about six when I started just playing in the garden with my brothers, they just chucked me in goal.

“I played in a boys’ team until I was about 13, before playing for Charlton, Gillingham, Chelsea and now Millwall.

“I want to see girls just go for it, to show people that girls can play football. There are so many more opportunities now.”

SSE Wildcats is a new initiative designed to inspire girls aged 5-11 to play football in a fun and engagement environment on a weekly basis. Created exclusively for girls, there are over 200 clubs across the country. To find yours, head to www.thefa.com/forgirls