Fare Polish members Chrząszczyki Sports Club launched on Saturday 5 May an intergenerational football project for women and girls in Warsaw.

The Women*’s Football Academy consists of weekly free football training sessions for women and girls of all skill levels, age, background, sexual orientation and identification.

Over 30 women joined the launching day. The initiative will also see a partnership with Fundacja dla Wolnosci bring refugee women of local reception centers to the trainings to further their social inclusion in Polish society.

The academy was born to address cultural and institutional barriers to women in Polish football.

In a press release, Chrząszczyki said: “We want to create a space in football for people who are excluded from existing structures, for example from academies and football clubs.

“We hear discriminatory language from all quarters: from the tweets of the President of the Polish Football Association, to offensive comments by male players at school or local pitches, to the patronising treatment from many, or the media that perpetuate stereotypes around women’s football and women in football.”

The academy was first held in 2012. Its fifth edition is being organised with the support of Fare through the Football People Development Grants.

Sessions will run on Saturdays from 5 May to 30 June between 3 and 4.30PM at OSiR Śródmieście sports center, in Warsaw. Participants must be over 15 years old and can join the trainings at any time without signing up.