PUPILS from a primary school have starred in a FA video highlighting the growth of girls’ football.

Young female footballers at The Olive School in Blackburn have appeared in a video about their passion for the beautiful game.

The FA’s video aims to highlight how the pupils’ participation in Girls’ Football Week in November sparked within them a love of the sport.

In the short video, which appears on the FA’s YouTube channel FATV, Year 5 and 6 pupils take part in a training session with the school’s PE Coach Callum McPartlan.

Executive principal of The Olive School, Julie Bradley said: “As a lifelong football fan myself, I was delighted when the school was invited to get involved in the shoot for the FA’s latest campaign.

“At The Olive School we have a lot of girls who are very serious about football. They were really enthusiastic about getting involved in our Girls’ Football Week activities and now regularly play football, organising their own matches during lunchtimes as well as building their skills in PE lessons and after school clubs.

“Aside from learning skills to use out on the pitch, playing football is helping our pupils to develop essential life skills too: communication, decision making, teamwork and leadership.

"It’s also giving our girls a huge confidence boost which is wonderful to see.”

The school’s head girl, Faiqa, 11, appears in the FA’s video talking about her love of the sport.

She said: “Playing football makes me feel happy.

"You can get away from your stresses and worries and just have fun.

"There is a stereotype about girls playing football and it’s not fair.

"Girls can play just as equally as boys and shouldn’t be treated differently. I think that more girls playing football will encourage even more to play.”

The FA, which this week announced its plans for 2018 and beyond, is using the video to share its commitment to investing £50million in girls’ and women’s football.

Teachers have revealed that the number of girls playing is now the same as the boys and the girls are even struggling to keep the football to break times.

PE co-ordinator at The Olive School, Suhail Sidat said: “There have been a few instances in class when I’ve caught a few girls passing notes to each other. You ask them what they’re doing and they say ‘Sir, we’re just doing tactics for football.’”

Tauheedul Education Trust, to which The Olive School belongs, was recently designated as an FA Girls’ Area Hub, joining a network of organisations that support and deliver girls’ football across the country.

To view the video visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCppc-EVF9s.