More than football

Women’s* Football Academy is a group of persons who were brought together by football. They organize open football trainings and matches for women and persons who are nonbinary, transgender, and queer. The group includes persons with various, often difficult experiences. “Most people come to our trainings and matches as they would attend help group meetings. K*AP Family is a safe space where, thanks to practicing a sport together, women* may feel a part of a community”, say the players.

“We don’t want to erase the star and go back to the closet”

In Poland, women* have limited access to the world of football: they have no money or no time, they are afraid to start from zero, they are ashamed of their own bodies. K*AP’s inclusiveness makes it difficult to find funding. “It is easier to find a sponsor if you fail to mention the fact that the project is also for LGBTQIA+ persons. We don’t want to do it, we don’t want to go back to the closet”, stress K*AP.

The players want to enable other women* to play football, because it gives them self-confidence, teaches them to accept their bodies, and it is fun to be together. They believe it is unfair that such a strong tool for self-building is restricted for cis-hetero-men. “We want to play football in a casual and supportive environment, and in the locker room we want to laugh and arrange a meeting or going to a demonstration together”, they say.

Women* to the pitches!

Thanks to the minigrant, the Academy will organize a cycle of free, open football trainings. Renting a hall means that the participants will not have to face a mocking audience (which happens on free pitches) and will have the comfort of changing in a locker room. The players want the space to be open to persons who speak different languages, who are deaf, beginners and experienced, regardless of their age. The minigrant will also be used to finance trips to foreign tournaments for some members.

K*AP hopes that their activities will inspire women* all over Poland.

Grant amount: PLN 4,400

Photo credit: Julia Szabłowska (1), Dominika Leszczyńska (2)