T-shirt triumph as Grace kicks off footy range
ASKELMERSDALE student has launched a campaign to empower and inspire female footballers.
Grace Vella, who has always been passionate about sport, has launched a clothing brand, MissKick, to support women’s football.
The 21-year-old said: “I have started my own clothing brand, MissKick, to empower female footballers and to inspire other girls who may not have considered football to try it out.”
Grace, who currently plays football for Wigan Athletic Ladies, played football throughout her childhood and claims, from her experience, that it can sometimes be a more difficult environment for females.
She added: “I understand that because I am a girl, you have to work that little bit harder to gain recognition or opportunities in football.
“Even in today’s society, it’s hard to be a girl who plays a predominantly male-orientated sport.
“Men’s football is such a huge part of our culture, meaning it often leaves us girl players feeling pushed out or forgotten about.”
She claims that girl footballers can sometimes find themselves being attracted to stereotypes, such as being labelled as masculine, as a result of playing the sport.
Grace, who is studying psychology at Manchester University, hopes that her new clothing range, MissKick, will help to change this so that young girls can access better opportunities, more support and feel accepted in the football world.
Speaking of the campaign, she added: “The idea came from my own experiences of being a girl footballer. Football has played, and still continues to be, a big part of my life. Some of my best memories come from playing football.
“I’ve travelled up and down the country, played abroad and made so many friends along the way.
“I wanted to create something that will empower current players and inspire new footballers so that they can have the same experiences had.
“I have always felt that girls’ football has come secondary to men’s. I know this frustration of feeling secondary will be something nearly all girls who play football at some point in their lives have had to deal with.”
Grace hopes that, by sharing her story, and launching her new MissKick campaign, she will inspire other girls to speak out to raise awareness and create better opportunities for the next generation of girl footballers.
She said: “I’m hoping that by creating MissKick it will bring together all girls in football and remind them that they should be proud of who they are.
“MissKick is for every I girl – the sporty girl, the girly girl, the clever girl, the girl pushing for the England squad and the girl who likes a kick-about with her mates.
“It’s all about empowering girls to feel comfortable in who they are and to inspire more girls to give football a go.” Each MissKick T-shirt will cost £12 to purchase and £1 from each sale will be given directly back to girls’ grassroots football in Skelmersdale.
As a result, Grace is aiming to provide girls with new kit and training equipment, buy them the newest boots or fund their coaches to go on coaching courses. The campaign was officially launched last weekend at the Ladies Skelmersdale Athletic Tournament, on Blaguegate Playing Fields.
To find out more about the campaign, or to purchase an item from the MissKick range, contact Grace via grace@misskick.com