Our Mission

Our focus is on creating environments where girls and women can access football, develop with confidence and feel that they belong. As an independent club, we have the opportunity to build something intentionally, without inherited limits, outdated systems or assumptions about how the women’s game should operate. 

We prioritise enjoyment, supportive team cultures and a strong development pathway so that players at every stage of their journey can grow within the game. In doing so, we are building a club that reflects the realities of the modern athlete while contributing to the continued growth of women’s football.

Why We Exist

Atlético London exists to help shape what comes next for women’s and girls’ football. Across the UK and beyond, participation in sport drops significantly during teenage years, with more than one million teenage girls who once described themselves as “sporty” stepping away from sport after primary school. This decline is rarely due to loss of talent; more often, sporting environments are failing to adapt, causing confidence to shift and a sense of belonging to fade. When this feeling of belonging disappears, we see participation quickly follow.

We want to address that challenge. We believe football can provide a powerful sense of identity, community and confidence for girls and women, but only when the structures around the game are designed with their needs in mind. In light of this, our club is built around three commitments that guide every decision we make: 

1. To increase participation at every level of our player pathway.

2. To keep girls playing football throughout our player pathway.

3. To help reform the women’s football landscape so that players and coaches can thrive.

1. The Game for All

Football should be accessible to every girl who wants to play, but for many young athletes, the first barrier to sport is simply access. Opportunities can often feel limited and environments intimidating for those who are new to the game, which is why we are committed to creating multiple entry points into football. We welcome girls and women at different stages of their football journey, including:

• First time players discovering the sport for the first time.

• Players returning to the game and looking to re-ignite their passion and confidence.

• Ambitious athletes pursuing a development pathway.

Every journey into football is different, and there is no single path through the game. What matters is that the opportunity exists and that every player feels there is a place for them to start or restart.

2. Remain in the Game

Starting football matters but staying in footballmatters even more. Adolescence is the critical stage where confidence can dip, and environments that once felt welcoming can start to feel daunting. 

At Atlético London, we are committed to helping players continue their journey during these years. This means creating teams where:

• Coaches are trained in communication, not just tactics.

• Team culture is built on belonging, not comparison.

• A flexible pathway are created that recognise that players develop at different speeds. 

• High standards delivered without fear-based environments.

Sport is rarely straightforward. There will be setbacks, missed selections, injuries and moments of self-doubt. These experiences form part of every athlete’s journey, and it’s our responsibility as a club to ensure that players feel supported through those moments, helping them build resilience, confidence and a belief in their ability to keep growing both as athletes and as people. 

3. Redefining the Game

Our club was created with a clear belief: women’s football deserves systems designed specifically for its athletes. For too long, the game has had to adapt to structures that weren’t designed with girls and women in mind. As the sport grows, it’s clear that a new approach is needed, one that puts players at the centre. 

We believe women’s football should be treated with the same seriousness, long-term investment and ambition that defines the best environments in global sport, and we aim to lead by example. That means building professional standards across all levels of the club, supporting athletes with the right coaching, physical preparation and welfare structures, and creating facilities and systems that recognise the needs of our players.

Innovation will be essential to the next stage of the sport’s growth, and as an independent club, we have the freedom to build differently, experiment with new ideas and help set new standards for women’s football. We hope to inspire positive change across all levels of women’s football, helping to build environments where athletes can thrive and the sport can grow sustainably.

Values

At Atlético London, we are guided by a set of values that shape how our entire organisation operates, from players and parents to staff and leadership. These beliefs define the culture we’re building together, where every person involved contributes to the strength and spirit of our club.

 We believe in:

• Ambition, because women’s football deserves bold thinking and long-term vision.

• Clear standards, because we perform best when expectations are understood and upheld.

• Long term development, because great players and great teams are built patiently over time.

• Honest storytelling, because the reality of sport includes challenges as well as achievements, and both are part of the journey.

• Accountability that supports growth, because high standards should challenge players while helping them develop with confidence.

• Joy in performance, because sport should remain joyful, challenging and meaningful. That balance sits at the heart of everything we do.

Above all, we believe in belonging. Everyone involved in Atlético London should feel that the game is built for them and that their place within it truly matters.

More than a Game

Our success will never be measured by results alone. Football matters, competition matters, but the real impact of a club is measured by the people it shapes and the confidence it helps build. 

For many girls and young women, sport can be a place where they discover their voice, their strength and their sense of possibility. For too long, however, opportunities in sport have been limited and expectations too narrow. We want to help change that.

Success for Atlético London will be reflected in how many girls discover the game through our club and how many continue playing through adolescence and into adulthood. It will be reflected in the environments we create, where players feel supported to grow, challenge themselves and realise they are capable of more than the limits that have historically been placed around them.

If players leave Atlético London feeling stronger, more confident and more certain of their place, both in football and beyond it, then we will know the club has done something meaningful.

Looking Ahead

The growth of women’s sport is one of the most exciting developments in recent years. Across the world, more girls are participating, audiences are growing, and the visibility of female athletes continues to expand. Women’s football sits at the heart of that momentum, entering a period of opportunity as the game continues to evolve. 

The clubs being built today will help shape what the sport becomes tomorrow. Our vision is for Atlético London to be part of the future by helping set the standard for what women’s football environments can and should be. We want the club to be a place where players develop with confidence, where girls can see a clear future in the game and where ambition in women’s sport is supported rather than limited. 

In the years ahead, we hope to see more girls stepping onto the pitch, more pathways and entry points opening across the sport, and more clubs building environments designed specifically for female athletes. If Atlético London can play even a small role in helping make that future possible, we will know the club has contributed to something truly important.

Sources

More than 1 million teenage girls who once described themselves as “sporty” no longer do so (Women in Sport, Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls).

Enjoyment of PE drops from 86% at age 7–8 to 56% at 14–15 (Youth Sport Trust, Girls Active Report 2024).