Scotland Sets 10-Year Plan to Grow Women's and Girls' Football

The Scottish FA and the Scottish government have launched a 10-year strategy for women's and girls' football. It is called Project 2035, and its main goal is to make Scotland a leading nation for the women's game by 2035.

The targets are easy to picture. Project 2035 aims to double the number of registered female players in Scotland, meaning players signed up with a club or league. It also aims to quadruple attendances and audiences for matches, so more people in the stands and more people watching at home.

The plan has money behind it, at least to start. Project 2035 is supported by £250,000 of government funding this year, according to the BBC.

A new taskforce will oversee delivery. It brings together the Scottish government, the SFA, Scottish Women's Football, the Scottish Women's Premier League, PFA Scotland (the players' union), sportscotland (the national agency for sport) and Cosla, the body that represents Scotland's councils. Each of these groups has a different part to play, from running the leagues to providing places to play.

The strategy also sets a sporting ambition: regular qualification for major tournaments. Those are the big international competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championship, that only the strongest teams reach. Scotland's women last reached one at the 2019 World Cup.

That is the part many fans will watch most closely. Getting back to a major tournament once is hard. Getting there regularly takes a steady pipeline of young players, good coaching and well-attended games at home. Project 2035 puts all of those in one plan, with a decade to deliver them.

What comes next will show how the plan works. A taskforce has been named, and the funding is in place for this year. The numbers for players and crowds will be the clearest measure of progress as the years pass.