Billie Graham: “I wasn’t able to play”

Throughout International Women’s Month, we are highlighting the amazing work our staff do within the Community department at Arsenal. Today we hear from Billie Graham, our Women & Girls’ Coordinator, about her role at Arsenal, inspiring the next generation and the growth of the women’s game.

What’s your role and what does it entail?

I’m the Women & Girls’ Coordinator for Arsenal in the Community so I plan and deliver sessions and create opportunities for girls at schools, The Arsenal Hub and our local pitches, essentially giving girls a safe space and fun environment in which to play football. 

What do you love most about your job?

I love creating safe, fun opportunities for girls. I wasn’t afforded the opportunity when I was younger so it’s great to see that girls now have their own space to create memories, make friends and take part in a sport they love.

Tell us about your journey…

I’ve always loved football and I supported Arsenal from a very young age but I wasn’t able to play because there weren’t local girls teams at the time and my school only offered netball and hockey. When I had my daughter and took her to her first football session, she had a very similar experience to mine and I couldn’t believe that things hadn’t changed or developed in around 20 years. So I decided to get into coaching and speak to my local grassroots club to find a solution. The chairman was fully on board with it and even offered to fund my FA Level 1 coaching qualifications to allow me to coach the side – the rest is history!

I then set up a Wildcats centre there. Wildcats is an initiative by the FA in partnership with Weetabix to encourage young girls to get into football. From there we were able to create a pathway for those girls into teams.

I saw the Coach Development Programme at Arsenal, decided to apply and I got in! I had an amazing experience and realised this was something I wanted to do full-time, not just voluntarily, especially at the club I love so much. After completing the course I became a sessional coach in the Community department, which allowed me to coach in schools, local estates and at The Arsenal Hub. I did lunchtime girls’ clubs, after-school clubs, PE lessons and then our Football Plus development sessions, including deaf girls’ sessions. Then I was appointed to my current role on a full-time basis, and here I am!

What does “Invest in Women, Accelerate progress” mean to you?

I think it means that we work together, women supporting women, and also that having male allies, having visibility, promoting it and talking about it, are all really important. For example, if we’re speaking to people and say, “Did you watch the Arsenal game on the weekend?”, people naturally only think about the men’s game but there’s the women’s game too. We still need to create more opportunities for women and playing the games at Emirates Stadium has been brilliant because we can bring so many more people together to watch it. I’ve also noticed that the girls at our sessions actually want to attend the matches, which is really lovely. 

How amazing is it to see the accelerated growth of the women’s game?

It’s absolutely incredible, and when I was growing up you’d only ever see the men’s names on the shirts, so it’s great to see the women’s names on the back of boys’ and girls’ shirts! It’s so amazing to be able to have the opportunity to bring girls to the Emirates and see them enjoying the game in a safe space, watching their role models close to home. 

We were very blessed to have Beth Mead come down to The Community Hub and do an event with us where we invited 40 girls from our projects, playing football, building Lego and building their confidence.

Also, Lotte Wubben-Moy is absolutely brilliant! She’s a fantastic role model and has a project she delivers with us called Time To Explore, which is about encouraging girls to be creative both on and off the pitch. She attends sessions regularly, speaks to the girls and spends quality time with them. She genuinely cares and does so much work off the pitch which is so admirable.

We’ve also had Kai Havertz come down to one of our girls’ football sessions at The Arsenal Hub, and he awarded one of our coaches, Bex, a shirt and two tickets to a game to thank her for her work in Jordan at the refugee camp. It’s fantastic to see male allies like Kai come down and show support for women’s football, women’s coaches and girls who aspire to be on the pitch.

What’s it like working for Arsenal?

It means everything because Arsenal have the same values in growing the women’s game as I do. Being able to take the girls to games on their doorstep at the Emirates is incredible, and also how we’re trendsetters with women’s football. For example, Arsenal being the first women’s side to have a bespoke shirt in the WSL in collaboration with Stella McCartney is a testament to the work that Arsenal is doing in promoting the women’s game more. We have the top six highest attendances in the WSL – people said we couldn’t sell out stadiums and we’ve done it for two games in a row! The women’s team started from the Community department and it really is the heart of Arsenal.

Which women do you look up to or have inspired you?

I loved watching Alex Scott whenever I had the opportunity, and seeing her now become a pundit and a complete advocate of the women’s game is incredible. Emma Hayes too, the way she’s influenced the game from a coaching perspective and is one of the greatest coaches in football for both men and women. Also, Sarina Wiegman who has done amazing work with England, winning the Euros and then getting to a World Cup final.

But I must also big up Ian Wright, who was a great player for Arsenal, an absolute legend and the reason I started supporting the club. But he’s also probably been the biggest male ally to the women’s game. He always stands up for the women’s game and I know parents who have brought their children to football on the back of Ian Wright constantly speaking about it on TV and on social media.

What’s your favourite sporting memory?

I’d probably say it was presenting the FA Cup at Wembley in 2019 to Manchester City Women when they beat West Ham 3-0. I took 60 girls with me on the coach and I remember just looking over and seeing all the girls there – it was an amazing moment. 

Overall, I’d say being at the Emirates when we sold out against Manchester United, winning 3-1, and having girls that I coach as mascots for the game too. Hearing the crowd sing and just seeing the amount the game has grown is such an amazing feeling.