A Scottish FA equity pilot, aimed at encouraging and empowering women to take part in football has been hailed a success after a great reaction to the scheme.

The pilot in Glasgow’s South Side seen an initial attendance of between 10-20 women attending each session, the majority of whom said they took part in no other sport or physical activities

Through these sessions, some participants have since become qualified coaches, encouraging them to volunteer to support the work of the women's participation centre.

The Scottish FA equity team said: “We have found that ethnic minority women in particular can lead quite isolated lives and are unlikely to access sport facilities.

“Our project aimed to attract these women to engage in women's football activities. Based on the uptake of our pilot project more women were engaged, particularly from ethnic minority communities, to participate in sport.

“During the pilot we made sure that our sessions were accessible to women of all faiths and cultural backgrounds; including by providing segregated training facilities and female only coaches.”

The participation centre and resultant inclusive community sport for women, continues to promote women's health and well-being; including a positive impact on mental health and well-being.

The project also addresses social isolation, disproportionately experienced by women, particularly ethnic minority women, integration, equality of opportunity & participation, and create opportunities to advance active citizenship in the diverse local area.