The Red Flames can be quiet. They will take over if we refer to the impressive figures for the development of women’s football in Belgium. Figures communicated to us by the head of her department within the Association des clubs francophones de football. In 2012, the ACFF had 5,697 affiliates in its ranks, adults and young people alike. In 2015, their number rose to 9,170 and then to 13,521 in 2018. “There, for 2021, we practically tripled the 2012 figure with 16,241 members,” rejoices Clotilde Codden, who plays in the Women’s Super League with Sporting de Charleroi. The increase is exactly 185%! “Despite the Covid, we have still increased by 20% this past year”.
And this concerns all age categories. For two-man football, that is to say the under-6s, 156 girls are registered with a club, whether Brussels or Walloon. “These are the ones who, like the little boys, participate in the Festifoot. We suspect that they are more numerous but the clubs do not systematically affiliate them ”. For 3-a-side football (U7), they are 179 and it goes up to 753 for 5-a-side football (U8-U9). For 8-a-side football (U10 to U13), the increase is strong with 2,457 members. And for 11 vs 11 football (from U14 to U21), there are now 4,478 affiliates. In adult women’s football, there are 210 teams. “More and more clubs are opening senior teams and the evolution can be seen in the provincial championships”.
>> Various actions carried out by ACFF, in addition to Festifoot, are also bearing fruit.
>> Find the full interview with Clothilde Codden, head of women’s football development at ACFF, here.
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