Alessia Russo reveals why she's backed game-changing initiative to boost grassroots women's football funding
Arsenal and Lionesses star Alessia Russo is backing a new initiative aimed at both increasing funding and subsidising costs at the grassroots level of women's football.
Russo is an ambassador of Starling Bank, whose 'Kick On' initiative will matchmake 2,000 business sponsors with their local grassroots teams, as well as subside costs of kit sponsorship.
According to a survey, 97 per cent of grassroots female football club coaches say their team needs more funds - an issue which in turn is limiting opportunities available to players. And 76 per cent of female players say they'll drop out of their team, or football altogether, if more funding is not secured in the next five years.
The top division of women's football in England, the Women's Super League, has undoubtedly been on an upward financial curve across recent seasons. Deloitte's annual football finance survey found that, in 2024/25, WSL clubs were able to generate revenue of £90 million - up from £65m the season before. Commercial revenue increased by £15m to £41m.
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The WSL has expanded from 12 to 14 teams for this season and, according to WSL Analytics, the division drew a total of 902,981 spectators (a 2.7 per cent increase on the previous) last season.
Arsenal, who play all their home games at the Emirates Stadium, averaged 33,808 fans per match across their 11 matches last season.
But the picture is not as bright further down the women's football pyramid.
Forest Green Rovers confirmed in June that they would not run a women's team in the fifth tier in 2026/27, stating they would be 'concentrating our resources and efforts' on the men's team's bid to earn promotion back to League Two.
WSL2 side Southampton announced cuts to their women and girls academy programme, down from Category One to Category Two.
And last year, Wolves won promotion to the Women's Championship (now WSL2), but were forced to stay in the third tier because the club's bosses did not submit the necessary application in order to move up a division.
When asked by SPORTbible about what English football stands to lose if funding across the women's game isn't improved, Russo said: "For me, looking back at my grassroots at the time, it was where the love for football began. It's where you start to find the joy and the passion.
"And to see that three quarters of girls are likely to drop out if there's no sponsorship within their team is really sad. And yeah, that's the fundamental of women's football - that's where these young girls grow up playing, and turn out to come and chase our shirts and come for the Lionesses and Arsenal.
"So I think it's massive, and I think we really need to keep pushing it. We do so much great work higher up, and in lots of other things, but grassroots is an area that is really important to make sure that we keep funding."
Russo admits that she knew of players in her younger years who dropped out of football altogether because of either a lack of funding or a lack of opportunities in their area.
"I grew up with a few players that I thought and hoped could come on this journey with me," she says. "But unfortunately they lived too far away from teams, or there wasn't a local team that was being funded where they could go and play and really kick on their career.
"I do really think that it's so important, because we could miss out on players that could go and be superstars. And I think we do such a good job in England, and at the top, of creating spaces for women, but I think the foundation needs to be laid at the bottom to push on the top and make sure that we're not missing anyone."
"I would want to make sure that every girl has access to a local team that is really backing sport," Russo says, when asked for the first thing she would do if she was in charge of running grassroots football.
"I don't think you should have to travel miles away to go and find a team. Living where you live shouldn't affect your access to football.
"It's a sport that can be played anywhere. All you need is a pitch and some grass, and we have that in abundance in England. So yeah, I think just making sure that every girl in every area has access to a team, local and close by."
As the Arsenal forward mentions, there is significant work at the very top of women's football in England that goes into identifying and developing the best young talents.
In the first team squad, the Gunners themselves have two players - Katie Reid and Michelle Agyemang - that have come through the club's academy and have been involved with the Lionesses.
Reid was called up to the England squad in October but was unused, while Agyemang rose to stardom at Euro 2025 with her super-sub exploits, scoring twice in four appearances.
Both would have played more at club level if not for injury; Agyemang, who was on loan at Brighton, missed almost the entirety of last season after rupturing her ACL on England duty in October, while Reid was beginning to establish herself in the Gunners first team before suffering the same injury in November.
Forward Freya Godfrey joined the Arsenal academy at the age of 12 before moving to London City Lionesses, where she was one of the top-performing attackers in the WSL last season.
Chelsea have England-capped forward Aggie Beever-Jones in their ranks, while midfielder Lexi Potter has been tipped for international honours this season and full-back Chloe Sarwie has been selected in the squad for this month's U20 World Cup.
Laura Blindkilde Brown, who came through the academy at Birmingham before joining WSL holders Manchester City, had a breakthrough season last term with City and has won seven senior caps for the Lionesses.
"There's a lot," Russo says, when asked about the talent that is emerging at international level. "We've got so many talented players coming through.
"Katie Reid is another massive talent. Misha [Agyemang] and Freya [Godfrey], I think they're definitely up there. For sure, Misha's already proved it on the biggest stage of them all.
"I'd say Katie Reid has got huge, huge potential, and someone that I love playing with at Arsenal.
"I'd also say Chloe Sarwie. She's shown massive growth this season at Chelsea and I think she's got bags of talent as well."
Alessia Russo is a Starling Bank ambassador calling on local businesses to sign up to Kick On to sponsor a grassroots women's football team - helping underfunded teams get the necessary financial support to secure the pipeline of future Lionesses.
To secure the pipeline of future Lionesses, Starling Bank is set to matchmake 2,000 business sponsors with their local grassroots teams and subsidise the cost of kit sponsorship. Starling’s Kick On Initiative is backed by Russo and Jill Scott, whose coffee shop BOXX2BOXX will sponsor a local team in Manchester.
Topics: Arsenal, Womens Football, Womens Super League
Ryan Smart