Why FutureGen Exists

Too many girls begin to disengage from sport during the critical years between childhood and adolescence.

The reasons are complex. Confidence, belonging, cost, access, changing friendship groups and the feeling that traditional sport simply isn't for them can all become barriers to taking part.

FutureGen exists to help change that.

We help girls aged 9–14 discover, participate in and stay in sport, using rugby as a powerful vehicle to build confidence, friendships, resilience and a sense of belonging.

We particularly want to create opportunities for girls who are less active, losing their connection with sport or who haven't yet found somewhere they feel they belong.

By connecting schools, clubs and communities, we create clearer pathways from a girl's first experience of rugby to regular and sustained participation in community sport.

Because introducing a girl to sport is only the beginning.

The real opportunity is helping her stay.

How FutureGen Works

FutureGen works across schools, communities and clubs to create a connected pathway into sport for girls aged 9–14.

We start where we can reach almost every girl — at school.

Through inclusive coaching, school programmes, tasters and festivals, we create positive, low-pressure opportunities for girls to experience rugby, get active and build the confidence to participate — including girls who may not currently see themselves as sporty.

But discovery is only the beginning.

We create opportunities for girls to play again through accessible community sessions, including Pitch Up & Play events, giving them another step between trying rugby at school and joining a club.

For girls who want to continue, we connect schools and families with local rugby clubs, helping make that transition clearer, easier and more welcoming.

Alongside this, we support teachers and coaches and work with schools, clubs and community partners to build environments that encourage girls to keep participating.

Our goal is simple:

Turn discovery into participation. Participation into belonging. And belonging into a lifelong relationship with sport.

What We Want Girls to Gain

Confidence

Helping girls build confidence in themselves and in being active — developing resilience, self-belief and positive experiences that extend far beyond the rugby pitch.

Community

Creating welcoming, inclusive environments where girls feel they belong, build friendships and develop connections that encourage them to keep participating.

Opportunity

Removing barriers and creating accessible opportunities to discover sport, play again and find clear pathways to continued participation — regardless of a girl's previous experience or confidence. .

What We Deliver

Turning the FutureGen Pathway Into Action

FutureGen works across schools, communities and clubs to help more girls aged 9–14 become active, build confidence and develop a lasting relationship with sport.

We use rugby as the vehicle, creating welcoming and accessible opportunities for girls who may be less active, beginning to disengage from sport, lack confidence or face barriers to taking part.

Our approach goes beyond providing a one-off sporting experience.

We connect each opportunity to another, creating a pathway that helps girls move from discovering something new, to participating again, finding somewhere they belong and ultimately staying active.

School Programmes

Reaching girls who are less active or disengaging from sport

Schools are at the heart of the FutureGen model because they allow us to connect with girls who may not currently participate in community sport or independently choose to join a sports club.

Working in partnership with local schools, FutureGen creates additional opportunities outside curriculum PE for girls aged 9–14 to become active through rugby.

Our school-linked programmes can include:

Girls' after-school rugby clubs
Extracurricular rugby opportunities
School-linked community sessions
Pitch Up & Play opportunities
Festivals and participation events
Clear pathways into continued community activity

We particularly want to reach girls who are less active, beginning to disengage from sport or face barriers to taking part.

Our aim is to provide positive, welcoming and low-pressure opportunities that build confidence, enjoyment and the motivation to participate again.

Schools provide the connection. The pathway provides what comes next.

DISCOVER → PARTICIPATE

Pitch Up & Play

Making it easy to play again

Trying a sport once is very different from becoming active regularly.

FutureGen Pitch Up & Play sessions create an accessible, low-pressure opportunity for girls to come back and participate again without needing to immediately join a club, commit to a team or sign up for a full season.

Girls can play, build confidence, meet others and develop familiarity with rugby at their own pace.

These sessions are particularly important for girls who enjoyed their first experience but may not yet feel ready to take the next step into organised community sport.

For some, Pitch Up & Play can become a stepping stone into a local rugby club. For others, choosing to come back and be active again is already an important step forward.

The aim is simple: make the next opportunity easy to find and easy to join.

DISCOVER → PARTICIPATE → BELONG

Festivals & Participation Events

Creating positive reasons to keep participating

FutureGen creates festivals, events and playing opportunities that bring girls together from different schools and communities.

These experiences give girls the opportunity to be active, play with others, make friends, build confidence and experience the sense of belonging that can make sport such a powerful part of their lives.

Importantly, our events aren't designed to stand alone.

Every event connects girls and families to another opportunity to participate — whether that's another FutureGen activity, a Pitch Up & Play session or a welcoming local rugby club.

We want every girl leaving a FutureGen event to understand:

“What can I do next?”

PARTICIPATE → BELONG

Teacher, Coach & Volunteer Development

Building the people who make participation possible

Creating sustainable opportunities for girls requires confident, capable and inclusive people around them.

FutureGen supports teachers, coaches and volunteers through practical training, resources and development opportunities that help them create environments where girls feel welcome, confident and able to participate.

By developing the people who support girls' sport, we can help opportunities continue beyond individual FutureGen-led activities.

This creates greater capacity within schools, clubs and communities and helps build a more sustainable local environment for girls to stay active.

PARTICIPATE → BELONG → STAY

School-to-Community Pathways

Making the next step clear

One of the biggest challenges isn't simply getting a girl to try sport.

It's helping her continue.

FutureGen connects schools, families, community opportunities and local rugby clubs so girls who enjoy their first experience know where they can participate again, who they can contact and what happens next.

The next step doesn't have to mean immediately joining a rugby club.

It might be:

another after-school opportunity
a FutureGen Pitch Up & Play session
a festival or participation event
another community rugby opportunity
joining a welcoming local rugby club when she feels ready

By creating different ways to continue, we aim to make the journey into sustained participation feel clearer, easier and more achievable.

It's this connection between school engagement, repeat participation and community belonging that sits at the heart of the FutureGen model.

PARTICIPATE → BELONG → STAY

Resources & Support

Helping opportunities continue

FutureGen doesn't want participation to depend entirely on FutureGen being there.

We support schools, coaches, volunteers and community partners with practical resources that help them create and sustain positive opportunities for girls.

Our Resource Centre brings together:

Coaching and session resources
Inclusive participation guidance
Teacher, coach and volunteer development
Safety and safeguarding guidance
Girls' rugby development resources
Links to trusted organisations, opportunities and programmes

By sharing knowledge and developing local capability, we aim to help schools and communities create more opportunities for girls to participate beyond FutureGen-led activity.

Our ambition is not simply to deliver more sessions.

It's to help create an environment where more girls can stay active.

PARTICIPATE → STAY

More Than Rugby Sessions

For FutureGen, success isn't simply measured by how many girls try rugby.

We want to understand what happens next.

Did we reach girls who weren't already participating regularly?

Did they come back?

Did they become more active?

Did they build confidence and enjoyment?

Did they find somewhere they felt they belonged?

Did they continue participating?

Did they find their next opportunity to be active?

These are the outcomes that matter because our ambition isn't simply to introduce more girls to rugby.

It's to use rugby to help more girls develop confidence, connection and a lasting relationship with sport and physical activity.

Everything FutureGen does therefore connects back to one clear pathway:

DISCOVER → PARTICIPATE → BELONG → STAY

Because introducing a girl to sport is only the beginning. The real opportunity is helping her stay.

Our Impact

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