THE ALESSIA CUP, POWERED BY SKY 

The Alessia Cup, powered by Sky, returns for its second year, bringing together girls from schools across North London for a day of football, confidence-building and opportunities designed to help them reach their potential on and off the pitch.

Following the inaugural Alessia Cup and launch of The Alessia Russo Foundation last year, the tournament will once again create a space for girls to compete, build confidence, make new friendships and see that football is for them.

Girls will have access to a range of workshops, advice and experiences spanning careers, women’s health and wellbeing, creativity and sport. This includes careers advice from Future Sparks, female health and menstruation support from Plan International, alongside dance workshops, T-shirt printing and football experiences from Adidas and Sky such as trailing football boots and building digital skills by creating content via Sky Up E-vehicles.

The Cup aims to encourage participation while building confidence, resilience, and leadership skills that extend beyond sport. According to the Game Changing report commissioned by Sky last year, girls aged 11-18 miss out on 280 million hours of sport every year compared to boys and playing sport as a child is as strong an indicator of future success as earning a university degree.

ABOUT THE ALESSIA RUSSO FOUNDATION

The event will bring to life the wider ambitions of The Alessia Russo Foundation, which is focused on helping girls and young women fulfil their potential through three core pillars:

Championing girls’ participation in sport: Creating more opportunities for girls to play, compete and stay involved in sport, while tackling barriers such as low confidence, body image concerns, lack of access and limited support.

Empowering young women to achieve their potential: Helping girls build confidence, develop skills and explore education and career opportunities, so they feel equipped to shape their own futures.

Elevating women’s health outcomes: Improving awareness, access and support around women’s health, including menstrual health, reproductive health, mental wellbeing and the challenges girls experience during puberty.

ABOUT SKY’S GAME CHANGING REPORT

Sky commissioned Public First to explore the sports participation gap between men and women in the UK, with an emphasis on teenage girls. The independent findings emphasise the importance of sports to young people’s health and well-being, and explores the role played by sports icons, rightsholders and broadcasters play in bridging this gap. The full report is available to view here.

As part of a bold package of recommendations to close the gender participation gap, Sky is calling for the introduction of a targeted tax relief on the production of women’s sport. With 55% of girls saying that watching professional athletes inspires them to play, the broadcaster is urging the Government to co-invest in the sector’s future growth to boost visibility and showcase more female athletes.

Sky is also calling for a National Girls and Women in Sport Day to celebrate participation and achievement and champion women’s sport for the next generation.