Starling Bank has launched its third grassroots initiative with Southampton Football Club Women.
The initiative named ‘The Next Starling’ is a free football experience that offers 100 girls from under 10’s to 16’s an opportunity to train like the next star of Southampton Football Club.
Ellie Cross, senior marketing manager, Starling Bank, said: “We’re on a mission to empower and provide greater accessibility to football for women and girls across the country.
“To bring our efforts to life and raise awareness of women’s football we launched Kick On, a grassroots programme, to get more women and girls playing football. The campaign has given 10,000 free football kits to girls and trained more than 100 coaches.
“The real magic of the initiative has been our work with ambassadors, Jill Scott and Beth Mead who provide relatable authenticity to the content, as they have lived through the issues we’re campaigning to change.”
Starling Bank has been the principal partner of Southampton FC women since 2022 and renewed its sponsorship contract in 2023.
As part of the three-year deal, the partners wanted to place a greater focus on creating more grassroots football opportunities for women and girls in Hampshire.
Cross added: “It’s less about the badging exercise for us and more about delivering on a shared value model where we’re able to support the youth of Hampshire with opportunities to get into the game.
“Whether it’s our Starling Bank Scout School, Next Starling or Coaches of Tomorrow. There is a lot of work to be done and we are proud of our efforts to date.”