Women in Football board member Monique Choudhuri believes a historic day at the Emirates Stadium can drive further ambition for women across the football industry.

An all-female team of grounds professionals made history at the weekend as Arsenal claimed bragging rights in the north London derby with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur thanks to a second-half goal from Alessia Russo.

The Women’s Professional Game and Women in Football collaborated with the Grounds Management Association and Arsenal FC to help 13 grounds professionals become the first all-female grounds team to work across a WSL game.

Choudhuri said: “When people are coming to work in football, they are unaware of the diversity of roles that are present in football.

“It’s like any organisation and the business of football means there is so much that needs to happen to make it work.

“Women are often overlooked for roles today, why shouldn’t we have women as grounds professionals doing the work that they’re doing?

“There is a huge spike in women wanting to come into the game but there is still naivety about what is available to them.

“Today has showcased variety, ambition, wanting to get into the game through different channels, it’s so important to do this.

“Women in Football have a massive role to play in this.

“We celebrate achievement, develop women who are aspiring in football to get to greater heights on and off the pitch and we tackle discrimination.”

 

 

Arsenal also fielded an all-female technical team on the day while a female Police Commander took charge of overseeing matchday.

Despite an uplift of women playing sport across all levels, only 2% of the grounds management sector, which is responsible for maintaining the nation’s pitches, is female.

With the spotlight on the role model grounds team, it is hoped more women will be inspired to enter the rewarding profession.

Grounds Management Association CEO Geoff Webb said: “Our profession often goes under the radar when it comes to jobs in sport.

“This will benchmark what you can do beyond being a player in sport and open up more opportunities to young girls watching the game.

“We’ve got an incredible group of 13 women in the profession here today doing a fantastic job.

“The next point for us is to go from the breakthrough moment to making it a constant, that’s the challenge.”