Tomorrow’s Lioness Legends are already on the pitch – here's how we’re supporting them

The Lionesses have landed in Switzerland to defend their title, and while only one team can take home the trophy, the contest’s legacy is a victory for women and girls everywhere. 

According to the Football Association (The FA),E.ON Next’s long-term partner in bringing the benefits of energy efficiency to grassroots football clubs via the Greener Game programme, the number of women and girls taking part in football in England increased by 56% in the first four years of this decade, with the number of female coaches and referees growing 88% and 113% respectively. What’s more, in the past eight years England Football reports that the number of women and girls’ teams in England has more than doubled, with a jump of nearly 1,500 in the year following the Lionesses’ epic victory in 2022.  

At the same time, the establishment of 73 Emerging Talent Centres to offer localised, high-quality training has increased the number of players from under-represented groups by 127%, and of those from economically deprived areas by 112%, helping young women and girls access more of the benefits of sport that used to be accessible mostly to boys and men. 

Whether it’s for girls or boys, the health, economic, and community benefits of getting more people involved at all levels of sport are clear. According to a report from The FA titled The Social, Health and Economic Value of Grassroots Football in England, grassroots football contributes £11.8 billion a year to the UK economy, generates £3.2 billion in healthcare savings, and creates a further £935 million in social value. 

This is exactly why we’re so proud to support grassroots football in England through our partnership with The FA, and more specifically our ongoing collaborative initiative The Greener Game. 

Since last year, we’ve been working to bring energy efficiency advice, site surveys, and funded upgrades including solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps to grassroots clubs up and down the country, helping them save money on energy bills that can be fed back into facilities for the people who use them – including women and girls. 

To give as an example just one of the grassroots clubs that has already been offered a fully-funded solar-and-battery system thanks to the Greener Game, Bingham Town Football Club has an Adult women’s team competing in the Nottinghamshire League, “Just Play” sessions open to all adult women who want to enjoy the beautiful game in a low-pressure environment, and more than a dozen teams for girls of all ages. The less Bingham Town FC spends on its energy bills, the more it can do for these and other players. 

Grassroots football is an important source of community, fitness, and fun for millions of people in England, which is why we’re putting our energy expertise behind it with the Greener Game. But millions more support teams at the professional level, and we’re helping there too. 

As the official sustainability partner of Nottingham Forest since 2021, and official women’s front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2024-25 season, E.ON Next has seen the Nottingham women’s team go undefeated this year, becoming champions of the FA Women's National League Northern division and being promoted to the Women’s Championship. 

We’ve also helped the club as a whole with a wide range of sustainability initiatives, including helping it live up to its name by planting a tree in Kenya for every 5,000 steps the women’s and men’s teams took during one month of training, totally a forest-worthy 37,000 saplings. 

From tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow. Right now, the future legends of English football are playing at clubs like Bingham Town FC, Staveley Miners Welfare FC, Moulton Town FC and any of the others already benefitting from the Greener Game. By supporting English football from the grassroots to the professional leagues today, we’re doing our bit to nurture the Lionesses and Three Lions of tomorrow. 

At the end of the day, only one team can win in Switzerland but from football clubs to fans, households to businesses, when it comes to the energy transition we’re working to make sure everyone’s a winner. 

To see what some present and potential future Lionesses have to say about E.ON Next’s support for grassroots football, take a look at our new video, The Pass, here.