Importance Score: 72 / 100 🔴
It’s been 40 years since Arsenal in the Community, the division that initiated the women’s team, was established. The announcement that all Women’s Super League matches will be held at the Emirates Stadium next season signifies a return to the N5 community where the team originated. This move and renewed focus on women’s football underscores Arsenal’s commitment to its roots and future aspirations.
A Year of Full-Circle Moments
Following their victory against Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, ending an 18-year wait for a second European title, Arsenal has experienced several significant milestones this year.
Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley, stated that bringing all league games to the Emirates Stadium “is another step in driving towards the best conditions for our players to be able to perform at their best and towards one of our main objectives, which is to win trophies. We also just felt that a connection back to where we began, back to our roots, was warranted.”
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The Genesis of Arsenal Women
Arsenal’s head of community, Freddie Hudson, shared the story of the women’s team’s inception during an Arsenal in the Community girls’ football session at Haverstock School.
Community Roots in the Late 1980s
“The roots of Arsenal Women are firmly connected to a community program back in the late 1980s when there was just no access or structured opportunity for girls and women to play football,” explained Hudson, who has been part of the community scheme for 37 years.
Hudson further elaborated:
- Lack of local football provisions for young girls.
- Initiation of girls’ football programs in schools, after school, and during holidays.
- Recognition of girls’ talent despite significant barriers and lack of role models.
Developing a Youth Training Scheme
The decision to further engage with these girls stemmed from the lack of female role models in football. Hudson noted:
“If they wanted to model a football technique or a skill, they’d have to look to professional men players and that just didn’t sit right with the football club. So we took those girls’ football programmes and the passion, commitment, togetherness, belonging and loyalty that those girls were showing, which was just so powerful, and took a big leap of faith. We developed a youth training scheme for 16- to-18-year-olds to mirror what the boys had in terms of a pathway.”
The club also aided senior players in securing jobs within the organization, with Alex Scott famously washing the men’s team kits early in her career.
Current Community Engagement
While the landscape has changed, Arsenal continues its community work. Abby Webster, a coach at Haverstock School, is a former pupil who, “As soon as I hit 18 I was able to get a job in the community. I’ve been out to other places to get some more experience but then I’ve always come back here; this has always been where my heart stays.”
Impact on Young Players
Bella, Myah, Kayla, and Stevie, participants in the Haverstock School session, discussed its impact. Bella mentioned, “We’re closer now,” while Stevie added that Abby is “less like a coach and more like a person that you can go and talk to. She’s more like a cool, younger person, like a cousin or something.”
All four girls have been involved since the sessions began and have enjoyed trips to the Arsenal Hub. Myah recounted, “We’ve met Declan [Rice],” with Kayla adding, “We got signed shirts, the new shirts.”
Arsenal in the Community: A History of Giving Back
Launched in 1985, Arsenal in the Community aimed to support locals affected by match day disruptions and engage with a generation of young people “that we felt they weren’t being listened to,” said Hudson, recognized with an MBE for his services to the community. Hudson reflected, “Unemployment was high, there was some racial tension in the city and we wanted to engage those young people.”
Addressing Modern Challenges
Many challenges from the past persist today. Hudson noted, “The riots in the 80s and 90s were kind of replicated in 2011. Society was in a pretty bad place back then and the challenges nowadays are similar, though there are some differences and different nuances. Unemployment is still a real challenge for certain young people that haven’t had any decent role modelling around education and work pathways.”
Community Programme Successes
The community program has also enabled Arsenal to support local authorities in addressing issues such as teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and school attendance. Hudson adds, “The beauty of the football club, though, is it’s nimble. It’s not a local authority, it’s not an NHS, where there’s levels of signoff you have to go through. We can be really responsive and with a bit of creativity and nimbleness and passion and commitment, all of a sudden you could be facing a challenge one day and the workforce could be out there with partners delivering on those challenges within a couple of weeks.”
Looking Ahead: Diversity and Opportunity
Arsenal aims to maintain a route from community programs into the women’s and girls’ teams, complementing their talent identification and academy programs. Wheatley stated, “We are also aware of barriers that are there for local girls to come through and have plans to reduce those,” including moving some training to London and alleviating financial burdens.
Improving Diversity
Enhancing the diversity of the senior side is another crucial driver. Wheatley takes pride in Arsenal’s academy diversity, emphasizing, “We have strengthened the pathway between the academy and first team just to ensure that there is that progress.”
A Golden Opportunity
Hudson sees the team’s achievements as “a golden opportunity that we can’t let pass” at the community level. He emphasized, “All the success we’ve had in the 2022 Euros, with all the success that Arsenal Women have had with 62 trophies, it’s phenomenal,” adding “And we’ve got a great window to drive some female-focused messages, supporting those young girls through pinch points of anxiety in their lives, but not just with women and girls. We’ve got a great opportunity to take some of those conversations, some of that education, some of that awareness, to a male audience, and that’s what we’re doing too.”