Three graduates of Manchester United’s Girls Academy helped to inspire young people at Manchester United Foundation partner schools in Manchester by joining in with football sessions and sharing their own experiences in sport with excited groups of female pupils.

Amelia Oldroyd and Zaiba Ishaque spent an afternoon at Dean Trust Ardwick, while Holly Deering visited Partington Central Academy where they came face-to-face with pupils who are aspiring to create their own success stories in football and sport.

At Dean Trust Ardwick, Zaiba and Amelia were the visitors, where they were spoke with pupils about how they have progressed to representing Manchester United and what their journey along that path has entailed, as well as taking questions.

Excitement levels rose as the players and young people got out on the grass together to round off the afternoon, taking part in mini-games and football training drills, as our pupils witnessed the skill, dedication and passion that Amelia and Zaiba possess.

Over on the other side of Manchester, in Partington, Under-21s skipper Holly visited a multi-sport event taking place at one of our partner primary schools in the area.

oungsters at the school were joined by students at neighbouring primaries to enjoy games of football, handball, and a workshop on sport for girls.

After the visit at Dean Trust Ardwick, Zaiba said: “We introduced ourselves to quite a big classroom of girls and getting involved with them was good. I hope I was an inspiration to them, I was once in their position.

“Having something like this would have boosted my confidence a lot because it’s good to know that someone before you has done something good and made it to such a big club like Man United.”

Amelia added: “Giving something back and showing what you can do when you work hard has been really great.

“It’s very heart-warming to see how much it means to the girls; when I was younger, it meant a lot for the older role models to give me some advice and help, so I’ve really enjoyed it today.”

Amelia, Zaiba and Holly have all spent much of their childhoods playing in the Manchester United Girls Academy, which is managed by the Foundation from Under-10 to Under-14 level to provide a pathway for girls into playing elite football.

Holly’s visit, to Partington Central Academy, saw a session being overseen by Foundation sport leaders who are in year 6 – alongside their coaches and teachers.

“It’s my first time supporting the Foundation and I’ve loved it,” Holly said. “When I was at school and at their age I had to play for a boys’ football team, so it’s great to see the girls being given as much chance to play as possible.

“More and more girls are playing and it’s important they get the chance to do that, either at school or for a team.”

The pupils in both groups certainly took a great amount of insight from the Girls Academy trio. One of the sport leaders from Partington Central Academy, Harsukh, loves leading the sessions for her classmates.

“It’s my favourite thing to do,” she told us. “We are allowed to decide what games we play, then we can set out the pitches and referee the games too.

“Holly was so cool; she looked amazing in her United kit! I’ve had a lot of fun today.”

Dean Trust Ardwick pupil Stevie, 11, added: “They’ve given us advice about being confident and believing in yourself no matter what. “We’ve learnt that you can be any gender to play football and to show confidence in what you enjoy. It’s been special and it’s made me feel good.”

Jonathan Buckley, one of the Foundation’s high schools co-ordinators and a Girls Academy coach, concluded: “Amelia, Zaiba and Holly have been fantastic, they have all been a real credit to themselves and to the Girls Academy.

“They were very caring with our pupils in the session and very encouraging. They were really supportive of them, which was brilliant to see.”