Belgium to develop women’s football

The Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) on Wednesday unveiled plans to prioritise the development of women's football, various Belgian media report. In order to achieve its long-term goals, the association aims to increase the number of female players in Belgium from currently around 26,000 to 35,000 players by 2016.

The 'FIFA Live Your Goals’ project can count on financial support from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), allowing the KBVB to launch several initiatives around the promotion of women's football in Belgium.

"In addition to organising the first Women's Football Day and setting up a scouting programme, we were in Leuven on Tuesday for the inauguration of Belgium’s first Women's Football Academy,” says KBVB CEO Steven Martens.

In order to make women’s football more appealing in the short term, Belgium needs to book convincing results with its national football team, the Red Flames. The team’s next goal is qualification for the 2017 European Championship in the Netherlands.