Mary Earps opens new football pitch hoping to inspire young girls

Goalkeeper Mary Earps - who used to play for England - has opened a new football pitch, that's been named after her, in Nottinghamshire.

The Mary Earps Pitch at Calverton Miners Welfare FC, where she used to play football growing up, is part of a plan which aims to get more girls and young women involved in the sport.

Mary, who now plays for French football club Paris Saint-Germain, officially revealed the pitch to the Calverton club's players and supporters on Tuesday.

She said it showed "how important women's football and women's sport is".

It's one of 25 pitches that are set to open across England as part of a £30,000,000 project called the Lionesses Futures Fund, led by the Football Foundation.

These new football facilities are designed to make girls and women feel welcome and included in the sport.

The goal is to inspire them to follow their dreams, to have fun and maybe even play for the Lionesses themselves one day.

The sites are carefully thought out to make sure that girls and women have a positive experience when they use them, making them more likely to come back and continue playing.

The facilities have good lighting, to help everyone feel safe walking to and from training or matches.

They also have private cubicles in the showers and toilets to make sure players feel comfortable.

All of the sites funded by the Lionesses Future Fund – including The Mary Earps Pitch in Calverton – will give girls and women priority when it comes to playing football during busy hours.

In addition, they will hold evenings where only women or only girls can play.

The Mary Earps Pitch can also be used in all kinds of weather, as it's made from special plastic and rubber that feels and plays like real grass.

Viv Corcoran, who runs the club, explained: "When the teams can't play, people can't get together and the children are affected physically and mentally because they are stuck indoors."