Lioness and Manchester City footballer Alex Greenwood to renovate sports facilities to help girls play
By Sported | 17 August 2023
England Lioness Alex Greenwood is giving back to her home town to encourage more women to play football.
Greenwood and her Lioness teammates arrived in Australia and New Zealand this month to compete in the Women’s World Cup; their first major tournament since winning the Euros last summer. Bootle born-and-bred Greenwood played football for hours outside her nan’s house.
Her pitch was the concrete streets of her home town, playing on them from the minute she woke until her mum called her in for tea. With the country getting behind women’s football like never before, the momentous Euros win created a call to arms, ‘to let girls play’ – but without resources, facilities, or funding there is a risk those words could ring hollow.
Alex said: “My overriding memory when I look back to those early days of football is just pure happiness. I absolutely loved the game, I was obsessed. If you had told me back then, when I was kicking a ball on the streets of Liverpool, that I would be playing football for my job, I would have laughed at you.”
The 29-year-old defender is now working with Barclays to create opportunities around the same streets in Bootle by giving young people more access to football through the renovation of two facilities: Poets Park and Orrell Mount.
These refurbished multi-use games and sports areas (MUGAs) will benefit from funding from the Barclays Community Football Fund and will be opened by Alex later this year.
A former pupil at Savio Salesian high school, Greenwood is known for her strong links to her hometown. Last year she was immortalised with a 22ft mural on Stanley Road, just a stone’s throw away from where she used to play as a child.
Greenwood said: “Bootle is where I’m from and I’m proud to have grown up here. Fortunately for me, I was spotted at a young age, but I know there is talent out there that haven’t (been) because of a lack of opportunities to play.
“Renovating these two MUGAs in my hometown with funding from the Barclays Community Football Fund will give more girls that chance to play the game they love. I’m looking forward to improving as many facilities in the area as possible.”
You can read more about the Barclays Community Football Fund on our Hub, by clicking here.
