Aston Villa is proud to celebrate International Women’s Day - a global day showcasing the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
IWD also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity, with activity worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements and rally for women's equality.
The theme for this year’s campaign on Wednesday, March 8 is ‘Embrace Equity’. We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias and seek out inclusion. Collective activism is what drives change. From grassroots action to widescale momentum, we can all embrace equity.
The club, continuing its ongoing support for International Women's Day, is celebrating this year's campaign throughout several initiatives.
We recently sat down with Aston Villa Women midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown, Women’s Youth Technical Director Cristina Torkildsen and Youth & Community Interventions Officer Amina Begum.
The influential trio discussed their love for the beautiful game, their football journeys to where they are now, their involvement at the club, inspirational role models, key advice and much more.
In September, Aston Villa, alongside official women's partner Gym+Coffee, launched the club’s campaign – Be The Inspiration.
‘Be The Inspiration’ is our call to action for supporters everywhere to join us on our journey of continuing the development of the women's game. You can get involved by sharing your football experience - whether that's playing or supporting, we want to see your love of the game!
Our ‘Be The Inspiration’ hub is a dedicated safe space, designed to be everyone’s individual relationship with football – whether that’s on the terraces, playing in the park, on the pitch with friends or training. We want to remove obstacles into the game and inspire a new generation.
You can upload a photo or video, or share it on Instagram or Twitter using #BeTheInspiration.
The initiative champions our existing girls and women’s programmes, highlights future activities and is an inclusive space for everyone to engage with women’s football.
Be The Inspiration
A group set up to empower and raise the voices of women, girls and non-binary people in football has marked International Women’s Day.
Villa Bellas, who help make Aston Villa more inclusive, invited former captain and current Aston Villa Women General Manager Marisa Ewers; West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster and Victims’ Commissioner Nicky Brennan to Villa Park to celebrate the work it does in the community.
The group was set up to give supporters a voice and stamp out sexism, misogyny and other prejudices in the game.
Sarah Breslin, founder of Villa Bellas, said: “Our focus is on supporters, players, staff and the local community. We support inclusion and diversity; football is for all and everyone should feel safe and welcome in the stands or on the pitch.
“In partnership with Her Game Too, we are able to work with the wider football community at all levels and support the campaign in its aims and help deliver its strategy.
“It was fantastic to meet with Marisa, Simon and Nicky, who are all equally passionate about ensuring football is for everyone.”
Foster said: “It is vitally important that we celebrate International Women’s Day, and it was a pleasure to visit Villa Park to hear of the wonderful work done by Villa Bellas.
“Football is a game for everyone and I call on everyone to ‘Embrace Equity’ today and every day.”
Brennan added: “Anyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about inclusion in football.
“It was an absolute honour to meet with Sarah and Villa Bellas and mark International Women’s Day with them.
“They do fantastic work in the community representing voices that need to be heard and I would encourage everyone to check them out.”
You can follow Villa Bellas on Twitter, click here.
Happy International Women’s Day from everyone at Aston Villa Football Club.
