A SPIKE in sign ups to play girls' football in the area has been put down to the country hosting the Women’s Euros 2022 tournament.

Two matches, both featuring England, have been held at the Amex Stadium in Falmer.

The Lionesses destroyed Norway 8-0 earlier in the month, the biggest win in the history of the competition.

They followed this up coming back with a last grasp turnaround to beat Spain 2-1 last Wednesday and reach the semi-finals.

The Argus: The Lionesses celebrating their 2-1 win against Spain last weekThe Lionesses celebrating their 2-1 win against Spain last week

Since the competition started on July 6, Albion in the Community (AITC) have seen a 55 per cent increase in sign ups for its girls' football sessions compared to July last year.

Matt Dorn, CEO at AITC, said: "Since the Euros, we've had a huge spike in girls wanting to play football at one of our sessions.

“At AITC, we've been putting a real focus on using the Euros to inspire the next generation of female footballers, so it's amazing to see it happen before our eyes.

The Argus: Albion in the Community runs football sessions for all agesAlbion in the Community runs football sessions for all ages

"We hope that we can build on this wave of excitement and carry on engaging more and more girls in Sussex to lace up their boots.

"A lot of these girls signing up have never really played football before, which goes to show the incredible impact a tournament like this can have on inspiring young people."

155 girls have booked on to the charity’s various football sessions, be that its soccer schools, after-school clubs, or its talent pathway.

Earlier this month, The Argus reported on a five-a-side women’s league expanding due to increased demand ahead of the Euros 2022 tournament.

The Argus: Women's football has also been expanding in BrightonWomen's football has also been expanding in Brighton

Jake Huggins, founder of 5s Football, which runs the league, said the women’s league started with “reasonable interest” around 2019 with space for five teams.

But mirroring the picture nationwide, the business has seen demand increase for a larger women’s league within Brighton.

Jake said: “In the last three or four months we have had far more interest, it’s really good.

“It has been really interesting, we have a few teams but there has been so many individuals who just want to play.”