As we celebrate 40 years of Arsenal in the Community, we look at the origins of Arsenal Women, formed within the department just two years later.
In the mid-1980s, we were one of the first clubs in the country to run dedicated girls-only football sessions as part of work-skills programmes, which offered apprenticeships to young girls through our community team.
These sessions were delivered out of the old JVC Centre at Highbury and supported the development of many of our legends, including Rachel Yankey and Ellen Maggs. This was never about results or trophies, we viewed it as an opportunity for young girls to play football in a safe space.
Yankey on Anelka’s boots and pretending to be Ray
Freddie Hudson MBE, Head of Arsenal in the Community today, reflects on the challenges young girls faced at that time: “When I started here in the late 1980s, we pushed for young girls to have the same access to play football as boys. That was never about seeking football outcomes. It was about inclusion for girls at a time when many people rejected the idea of girls playing football.
“The community pitch at the JVC Centre was a welcoming space – where trust was built, role models were created and opportunities were given. What we saw was empowerment in the girls: support for each other and a sense of belonging that was really special to us.
“Out of those programmes came Rachel, Ellen and many other courageous players who smashed down brick walls in football. We’re proud to call them Arsenal legends who have paved the way for generations of young girls.”
Those actions of inclusion and creating a safe space for girls to play laid the foundation for decades of growth in our women’s team and the game as a whole. Today, 40 years on, we continue to deliver many programmes for girls and women of all ages, designed to give them the confidence to play and to keep their love for the game alive.
Our vice-captain, Leah Williamson, visited a Premier League Kicks session in 2025, where she underlined how crucial it is to keep girls playing the game. “It’s important that we show up for young girls, especially in schools in London where access to pitches can often be so limited.
“Becoming a young woman is hard, because this is the age everything starts to change. I just hope they stay in the game because it brings us joy and that’s all that matters. We were invested in early and given the safe space. We’re a product of that and look how it’s turned out. The fact we offer this opportunity for girls today makes me proud.”
It was also Arsenal in the Community who established the first-ever home pitch for our women’s team at the Britannia Leisure Centre in Shoreditch Park. The centre ran volleyball sessions at the time, which Alicia O’Grady, a member of our community team, helped to deliver.
As well as running the leisure centre, Alicia played football for Aylesbury Ladies. When Aylesbury came together with Arsenal to form Arsenal Women in 1987, she helped Vic Akers – our new manager – to deliver first-team and reserve-team sessions, as well as tournaments for girls at youth levels.
Sarah Ryan and Michelle Curley were among the first players in the 1987/88 season, and the pair reflected on that groundbreaking era of women’s football.
“It was an amazing experience to be able to play football for a women’s team, when most of my younger years I had only been able to play with the boys,” says Sarah. “We had a great team spirit and everyone supported each other, especially as we were only 15. It was the first set-up of its kind in that a top professional club was willing to accommodate and support a women’s team.”
“I was born and bred in Islington,” says Michelle. “I started attending a girls’ football session at the JVC Sports Centre, adjacent to Arsenal Stadium, when Vic invited me and Sarah to a training session for a women’s team that he was trying to introduce at the club.”
Michelle Curley: An Arsenal Women pioneer
During these early stages, there were no professional contracts or salaries, and 90% of the team worked during the week. Training would be reserved for late weekday evenings, with matches on Sundays.
“In 1988, the local government wanted to introduce a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) in partnership with the club and Islington Council,” Michelle says. “I was now 16 and leaving school, and I was lucky enough to be offered the first position in the scheme as a trainee, earning just £35 per week! We attracted players from all over the country and our success grew, as we started to win leagues and our first FA Cup in 1993. I went on to make my England debut at 19 and travelled to some fantastic places.”
“I loved being part of the first-ever Arsenal Women team. The whole journey was amazing – doing something I loved, not for the money but for the love of the game.”
As we celebrated our 53rd major honour together with 4,000 supporters in Lisbon and millions tuning in around the world, we never forget where we came from and what we stand for: lifelong belonging in our club, community and game.
Our journey to Lisbon was made possible by our ever-growing and hugely passionate community around the women’s game. The trophy lift at our N5 home on May 26 was a magical moment we shared with our entire Arsenal family.
To mark the special connection with our community, we invited two young girls from Arsenal in the Community programmes to present the trophy to Kim – Daisy Martin and Celine Davie (CeCe).
Daisy is 11 years old and attends Gillespie Primary School in Islington. She attends our Premier League Football Plus sessions at St John’s Highbury Vale every Friday, our free girls-only Double Club literacy programme, and our free holiday camps for girls at The Arsenal Hub. Daisy plays for our Arsenal under-11s girls community team and often volunteers to play in goal. Her favourite players are Alessia Russo and our captain Kim Little.
CeCe is seven and attends local primary school St Mary Magdalene Academy. She attends our free holiday camps for girls and also takes part in our Premier League Football Plus sessions every Monday. CeCe joined our Under-8s Arsenal community team in September, and she is a huge supporter of Arsenal Women. Her favourite player is Williamson.
Today, our community team employs around 100 full-time and part-time staff, who connect with 5,000 members of the local community every week across a wide range of education, employment, inclusion, wellbeing and personal development programmes.
Many of our activities have evolved in response to new challenges since those early days when Arsenal Women was founded, but our values and ethos remain the same: safe spaces, role models, opportunities and access, all helping to create a sense of belonging in some of the most vulnerable parts of our community.
We’re proud to have a women’s team founded on these principles, and a team today who live and breathe the values we hold so close to us.
