Hackney Laces – the tie that binds

Hackney Laces: a community club. Photograph: Hackney Laces

A couple of years ago, when Katee Hui was playing football with some friends on Stoke Newington Common, she was asked by a young girl where she could play.

After searching on the Internet and asking around, Katee realised there was a lack of opportunities for girls aged 12-17 to play football in the area.

“That was the spark,” Katee says. “I just thought to myself, someone has to organise something here.”

So one year ago this month, the young women’s football and community club Hackney Laces was born.

The club meets every Tuesday evening at Petchey Academy where the girls can train, get involved in their community, learn new skills (football related and non-football related) and make new friends.

Some recent activities have included nutritional talks from the Dairy Council, help studying for the GCSEs and a trip to watch Arsenal Ladies play. Almost every player at Hackney Laces supports Arsenal, except Chelsee (who supports Chelsea).

“It’s about inspiring them,” says Katee. “It’s getting them involved and giving them the skills, but also having people come in and encouraging them to get involved and contribute to other projects going on.”

Currently the club has 20 girls who play consistently, but 49 girls are on the register and the club is always looking for more girls to join. Most of them are beginners and some have never even touched a ball before, but all levels are welcome.

To help inspire the players, a group of motivating women are involved in the club, including former professional player Kirsty Pealling. Kirsty was born and bred in Hackney and played for Arsenal Ladies Football Club, the most successful women’s football club in the country.

Katee has met plenty of professional female football players in London, many of whom are involved with Hackney Laces.

Unlike professional male football players, these women have other jobs and are “literally on your doorstep.” In a country where total wages across the Premier League amounted to £1.6bn last year, female England internationals only earn around £16,000 a year.

Women’s sports are constantly battling to be taken as seriously as their male counterparts, but Katee says that football is an accessible sport and shouldn’t be just a ‘boys game’.

“Even if the girls don’t want to play in the future, [Hackney Laces] can be a bouncing off board to get the girls wanting to do other stuff. It teaches them things like discipline and being on time and building their confidence.”

She adds: “It doesn’t have to be about money. You can do it for love, you can do it for fun, and it’s just that important thing that you have for you.”

As for that young girl in Stoke Newington Common who wanted a place to play? Well she’s now 16 years old and captain of the club.

For more information:

Email: hello@hackneylaces.co.uk
On the web: hackneylaces.co.uk
Twitter: @hackneylaces