A community football organisation that deliver weekly Sunday morning football sessions for young girls in Kirklees, has been recognised by the Huddersfield Town Foundation.
Ready Steady Active and its director Rashida Salloo have been awarded the Huddersfield Town Foundation’s Premier League Kicks Facilitator award.
Ready Steady Active is a sports, health and physical activity organisation that aim to get more people active and enjoying sport. Rashida has been pivotal in supporting South Asian and Muslim girls to get more physically active.
The sessions are open for females of all abilities, backgrounds, faiths, and beliefs to learn new skills, make new friends and get more active. The facility has privacy curtains which enable players to participate fully without fear of prejudice or compromise to their faith.
The group have been hit hard by the pandemic with training sessions limited earlier in the year and grassroots sports stopped by the latest national lockdown.
Breaking down the barriers of sport and football Rashida said: “I would like to say a big thank you to the Huddersfield Town Foundation for recognising my work in opening up football to women and girls from diverse backgrounds.
It’s an honour to receive this award but this programme would not have been as successful without the important and mutually valued partnership Ready Steady Active has with the Foundation, in which we have worked collectively to make an impact in the community.
It is a great example of the success that can be achieved when we bring diverse skills, knowledge and experience together and work collaboratively to make a difference.”
Katie Suttron, Head of Education & Community Activity at the Town Foundation, said:
“Not only is Rashida a true advocate for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, she also has a passion for sport and physical activity that rubs off on others around her. She encourages and supports reluctant participants to give sport a chance and our programme would not be a success without her.”
The awarding of the facilitator award marks the 10-year anniversary of the Premier League Charitable Fund, and its fitting to see the work Rashida is doing marking the occasion, as 10 years ago the news was unheard of in our communities.
