England Lioness Nikita Parris impressed by growth of women's football as Women's Euros gathers pace
The Brighton & Hove Albion striker attended the Big Football Day this weekend in London – a grassroots football celebration delivered across England by The FA and supported by The National Lottery. The National Lottery have invested £6 billion into grassroots sport over the last 30 years – changing the game for women's and girls' football. The event is to celebrate EURO 2025 this summer and to increase female participation, with clubs being asked to open their doors to host a Big Football Day during the month of July. The day will bring the community together and people can pop down to their local clubs to get involved in female taster sessions for all ages, match screenings, fun football festivities and more.
It is vastly different from Parris' introduction to the game that saw her form her own girls' team as opportunities did not exist at the time.
'There weren't many opportunities like this, and I started my own girls' team for Kingsley United when I could no longer play with the boys,' the 31-year-old said. 'At that time when you were 11-plus, you could not play with boys, so I had to create my own with family, friends and whoever walked past the park with a dog, parent, I took them in.
'It is so nice to see so many girls' teams playing here. It is so different, it is lovely to see so many young people playing and they are all girls' teams. When I was younger it was mixed or lads I played with.
'It is so nice that there are initiatives happening all round the country and young girls playing, one of these could be a Euros star in the future.'
Parris missed out on selection for England's Euros squad having been a part of the triumphant team in 2022. And while she said there would always be mixed emotions for the Liverpool native, Parris is hoping they keep a hold of the trophy.
The 2022 victory saw the number of women and girls participating in football skyrocket, with the numbers more than doubling. The day began at AFC Leyton – one of the UK's biggest and most successful independent women's football clubs.
AFC Leyton has built everything from scratch, becoming a shining example of grassroots success and a proven talent pipeline, with players progressing to the likes of West Ham, Chelsea, Spurs and London City Lionesses. The afternoon continued at Central Park in Newham for a festival-style Big Football Day event, hosted by The FA and supported by The National Lottery.
Over 100 girls took part in a mix of taster sessions, recreational football, walking football and community fun – culminating in a live screening of England's match at 8pm, surrounded by DJs, activations, food, and more. And Parris hopes the same excitement, explosion of interest and growth will happen again for women's football in the UK, no matter the result for the Lionesses.
She added: 'To continue the legacy of growing women's football, women's sport across the country and across the world. We want the game to continue to grow at all different levels. We want parity in the game, that ultimately comes from time, resources, and support.'
Big Football Day is a grassroots football celebration delivered across England by The FA and supported by The National Lottery. Whether you're playing for fun, for fitness or for friendship, football is a place where girls can grow in confidence, feel part of a team and realise they're Made for This Game.
With the continued support of The National Lottery, The FA is working to ensure football is truly for all, with over £6 billion invested in grassroots sport across the UK over 30+ years – changing the game for women and girls' football. And the FA's National Development Manager for Women's and Girls' Pathways, Alice Kemspki said; 'Big Football Day is one of our key activations across the women's and girls' game to try and use the major tournament and harness the moment to drive participation locally and in the grassroots game.
'We have 200 plus clubs across the country opening their door to women and girls' doing a Big Football Day powered by the National Lottery in their own areas.'
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