Women In Football Welcomed to Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration

Women In Football (WIF) has become the latest signatory of IWG’s Brighton plus Helsinki declaration, in what WIF describe as a ‘landmark moment’. 

The signing took place on 26 March at the annual ‘Be Inspired Conference’ at Wembley Stadium, with WIF CEO Yvonne Harrison reminded the 500 delegates in the room that ‘while football should belong to everyone, unfortunately for too long this has not been the case.’ 

Following her introduction, Yvonne welcome Lisa O’Keefe, IWG Secretary General, to the stage to give an overview of the IWG, what it means to become a Brighton plus Helsinki Declaration signatory and a call to action to the audience that ‘We need your knowledge. Where you’re making change, we want to hear it.’ The signing then took place on stage, as part of the conference agenda. 

WIF are a network of professionals working in and around the football industry who support and champion their peers. Through a series of partnerships, events, campaigns and programmes, they are working towards a gender-equal future for the world’s most popular game. Their work includes their ‘Open Doors Agenda’ which calls on governing bodies to adopt six principles to reform the way the sport is governed, and their widely acclaimed ‘Leadership Course in partnership with Barclays’ which creates opportunities for women to develop their careers within the football industry. 

Lisa said:

“I’m thrilled to welcome Women In Football as the latest signatory of the Brighton plus Helsinki declaration. 

“Women in Football work tirelessly to improve women’s representation at all levels of the game. From their successful advocacy work, to their extensive event programme, to their renowned leadership courses – they are a great example of how to make change. 

“As the global network of networks, it’s brilliant the IWG have connected with the Women in Football network and to have the opportunity to share their impactful work on a global scale. 

“It was also fitting that WIF – who have over 11,000 members in their network -signed the Declaration at their annual conference. They brought together 500 delegates to share and learn from each other, demonstrating the power of networks which is something the IWG is looking forward to delivering at the IWG Global Summit in July 2026.”