アーセナルFCさんのインスタグラム写真 - (アーセナルFCInstagram)「💬 “I’ve been taking part in walking football sessions at the Arsenal Hub for a number of years - and we need to encourage more women of Black and south Asian descent to join those sessions. The diversity in the group has definitely improved over time but I think there’s always more to do to encourage more older local women to join in. “I was amazed and delighted when I found out that Arsenal in the Community offered walking football. I’d been looking for a sport to take part in and, to be honest, I’d found little that appealed and took place at the right time and venue. I’d tried a few things but then I read about it on a website encouraging older women to take part in sport. “So I turned up at the Arsenal Hub one Sunday. Don’t forget, I hadn’t kicked a ball since I was about eight. I was one of the lost generation of women who weren’t allowed to play in the playground - in fact I can still remember being badly told off when I once did. “I was the only woman there, so I toughed it out, even though I felt like I had three left feet. Over time, more and more women came along. There’s actually now a separate women’s team, due to how popular the programme became. There’s the sporting and health side of it - but there’s a really important social side too. After playing on Saturday mornings, we used to go and sit in Little Wonder and have a nice breakfast. “That first crop of women have been able to establish a very strong link with the club while also forging their own circuit. “It wasn’t long before we started playing in tournaments. In fact, we got a small grant from The Arsenal Foundation to travel to France to play over there, in a proper stadium during 2019, when the country held the Women’s World Cup. That was such good fun - and we won the fair play award to boot. “Walking into a room full of people when you’ve never kicked a ball in your life isn’t easy. What you need is a warm, welcoming sense that you can come along and have fun. That’s really what it’s all about.” Read our latest Black History Month feature with Lola Young OBE, Baroness Young of Hornsey on Arsenal.com and the app」10月30日 23時40分