100,000 more girls playing football in England as activity levels rebound

Girls' participation in football up dramatically in five years, and children now as active as before pandemic

There are now 100,000 more girls playing football than there were five years ago, according to an annual survey of children's fitness by Sport England, which also found secondary school girls are more active than they have ever been.

Overall, children's activity levels have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but the Active Lives survey revealed that not all groups have made the same progress, with children aged seven to nine lagging behind, their activity levels still 4.5% below where they were before Covid.