TWO new football centres for girls aged between five and 11 are to be launched in Ledbury and Kington.

There is currently no girls football provision in Kington, while Ledbury does not have any teams below under-12 level.

The SSE Wildcats Girls' Football Centres will be at Ledbury Primary School and Lady Hawkins High School in Kington and will run every Sunday from the end of the month through to the summer.

"To be able to set up two girls' mini-soccer centres in Herefordshire with the support of the FA is a positive step," said Herefordshire FA chief executive officer Jim Lambert.

"Herefordshire FA is committed to supporting the female game and we see this as one of the first phases in achieving our aim of doubling participation in the next four years."

John Stewart, SSE’s director of human resources, added: "We’re delighted to support the FA in setting up these centres, helping to deliver high quality coaching sessions across the country to the next generation of female footballers.

"At SSE, we are extremely proud to be a fundamental part of supporting the grassroots game.

"This is a key reason for our sponsorship of the SSE Women’s FA Cup, not only are we focussed on achieving greater awareness of the sport at an elite level, equally as important we are creating more opportunities and relentlessly encouraging more girls to get involved in football."

For more information, email Joe.Mathias@HerefordshireFA.com