Sport England have awarded £1 million of National Lottery funding to the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 being hosted in England.

The money will be used to develop local plans for women’s football in all nine of the host cities. They are: London, Trafford, Manchester, Sheffield, Rotherham, Milton Keynes, Wigan & Leigh, Brighton & Hove and Southampton.

Sport England Director of Sport, Phil Smith, said: “EURO 22 will be a significant and exciting event, and we are delighted to be working with The FA to use it to grow the women’s game.  

"We believe a ‘place-based approach’ – working with local stakeholders to develop a recreational football programme for the right place, at the right time - can be instrumental in making this happen and ultimately developing women’s and girls’ football in England.

“For EURO 22 Sport England and The FA are trying to get ahead of the game. We know the Tournament will excite the fans and the public, so we want to use that excitement to support even more women and girls to start playing.”

Eight Host City Legacy groups have been set up for each city and they have been given £100,000  each in order to create a recreational offer for the women’s game.

The aim is to build women’s football in England and create more interest at grassroot level.

Louise Gear, The FA’s Head of Women’s Football Development, added: “UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 is set to be a record-breaking tournament, and one which offers us huge opportunity both to continue building the profile of women’s football and to inspire more women and girls to get involved in the game.

“As we approach two years to go until the showpiece final takes place at Wembley Stadium, we are delighted that Sport England has announced this significant investment. 

“By supporting the development plans of each of our nine dedicated host cities, we hope that we can build on the energy and excitement that comes from a home EURO to turn these regions into hubs for increased activity and opportunity in the wake of the tournament.”

The women’s tournament was supposed to kick off next summer but was pushed back a year as the men’s tournament was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.