Belief
We exist to redefine what competition looks like for girls - where confidence is built, creativity is encouraged and resilience is developed through the game.
WE ARE BELIEF
WE ARE BELIEF
We are not a football academy.
Look at the world today: we have a need for more confident, capable female leaders to make a difference. Evidence from the Women’s Sports Foundation shows that 67% of women feel the skills and lessons learned through sport have positively shaped their adult lives. This reinforces what we believe at our core.
The Belief Girls Football Development Programme uses football as a powerful hook to engage young girls in sport and physical activity. Our aim is not to produce professional footballers, but to develop game-changing girls by creating safe, supportive environments where they can play with confidence, develop creativity, and build resilience.
We work in partnership with schools to make this impact meaningful and accessible. Nottingham is our starting point, but our vision is not limited by geography.
The Belief Girls’ Football Development Programme is a school-linked initiative designed to increase participation, retention, and progression in girls’ football, with a particular focus on young people from Nottingham city.
Through weekly after-school sessions, inclusive tournaments, and a structured development pathway, the programme will provide accessible, high-quality football opportunities for girls aged 11–16.
Our approach is built on three core values: confidence, creativity, and resilience, delivered through a model we define as “feminine competition”—a supportive but challenging environment that encourages girls to stay engaged in sport.
Confidence - Build self-belief through challenge and ownership
Creativity - Encouraging curiosity, adaptability and expression
Resilience - Developing persistence, perspective and recovery
Our Girls-First Focus
At Belief, our mission is to use football as a tool to develop confidence, creativity and resilience in young people. We believe football should be a space where all young people feel seen, valued and able to express themselves.
We are starting Belief with a girls-first focus because the need is greatest and the opportunity for impact is strongest.
Why Girls First?
Despite the rapid growth of women’s football, girls continue to face significant barriers to participation, confidence and progression in sport:
Girls are far more likely than boys to drop out of sport during adolescence, often between the ages of 12–16.
Many girls cite low confidence, fear of judgement, body image concerns and lack of safe, welcoming environments as reasons for disengaging.
Access to informal, enjoyable football opportunities for girls—particularly outside of traditional club pathways—remains limited, especially in inner-city areas.
At the same time, evidence consistently shows that football can be transformational for girls, improving self-esteem, mental wellbeing, belonging and leadership skills when delivered in the right way.
Belief exists to help close this gap.
What a Girls-First Approach Means at Belief
Putting girls first does not mean excluding boys. It means intentionally designing environments where girls thrive, by:
Creating football spaces that prioritise enjoyment, expression and belonging, not early specialisation or pressure.
Valuing confidence, creativity and resilience as much as performance or results.
Using language, role models and coaching approaches that empower girls to be bold, visible and unapologetically themselves.
Offering competitive opportunities (such as the Belief League) that feel exciting, social and supportive rather than intimidating.
By starting with girls, we ensure that our foundations are inclusive, values-led and rooted in care. This, we believe, is vital in the world we live in today.
WHAT WE DO
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A small-sided girls inter-school competition celebrating effort, expression, and teamwork as much as results.
Creating a space for football that prioritises enjoyment, expression and belonging, not early specialisation or pressure.
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Play-based environments where young people explore Belief’s Language of Play through small-sided games.
Valuing confidence, creativity and resilience as much as performance or results.
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Embedding Belief coaches into school systems to deliver mentoring, leadership and enrichment.
Using language, role models and coaching approaches that empower girls to be bold, visible and unapologetically themselves.
We also value peer-peer mentoring and have a framework which allows older students to work collaboratively with their younger peers.
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Girls-only football holiday camps for players of all abilities - again, our focus is on enjoyment and participation.
We aim to work collaboratively with local leagues and teams to signpost players towards clubs that would suit their ability and location.
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The Belief Girls Development Teams bring together students from across our network of schools in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 to train, play, and grow in a supportive and inclusive environment.
These teams are designed to develop confidence, teamwork, and game understanding through regular football sessions and competitive opportunities. Players are encouraged to express themselves, build resilience, and develop leadership skills both on and off the pitch.
Our Vision
A generation of game-changing girls who play, learn and live with confidence, creativity and resilience — shaping a more compassionate and connected world through sport and education.
Contact Us
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!