The two players, who have come through the ranks at the club, were on hand to support the female participants from local primary schools as they enjoyed a wide range of activities in an event to help with their transition from primary to high school.

On the agenda was a football session based around communication – where players guided participants with their eyes closed to move a ball from one hoop to another – target practice, as well as girls’ football workshops and even a paper aeroplane race!

The fun event, which focused on developing key skills in an enjoyable and light-hearted way, benefitted from the visit of Olivia and Millie, who were able to pass on their own tips as they work towards their end goal of reaching the women’s first team.

The two players, whose form at U21 level has been rewarded with a number of first-team training sessions, spoke passionately about the need to back yourself in situations that are out of your comfort zone

“Always trust yourself and have belief in yourself,” Millie told participants. “If you make a mistake, don’t worry, you’re learning and you’ll be better for it. Whether this is on the football pitch, or in school, or in life – keep trying and don’t give in!”

Olivia was similarly effusive in her support and advice for the youngsters, and spoke to us about how beneficial these kind of events can be.

“I’ve loved being here this afternoon; I’ve done a few things with the Foundation now and I’m really enjoying learning about what they do and the opportunities they give to kids,” she said.

“It’s nice that the girls were really excited to see us, too. I’m sure they’ll all do really well when they start high school in September.”

Elsewhere, at nearby Broadoak High School in Partington, the Foundation’s Girls Development team hosted a huge event for 100 primary school students from the local area, which was led by student sports leaders from Broadoak. The premise of the event was to give participants the opportunity to enjoy sports such as lacrosse, volleyball and others that they might not ordinarily play in their school PE sessions.

“Today we’ve put on a sports day type event for the local primary schools with each station focusing on a different sport,” Acacia, one of the sports leaders in attendance, told us.

“As part of our role as female sports leaders, it gives us the chance to develop and grow our own skills, whilst working with a younger generation and help to inspire their own interest in sport. A lot of sports are male dominated, and it’s important to me that girls get the same opportunity and the same support to enable them to flourish too.”