Pernille Harder has launched a mentoring programme aimed to inspire, guide and empower the next generation of young female footballers. This program, which is supported by Nike, is concentrating on providing young players with guidance and opportunities for them to grow and develop. The vision for this program is to share what Harder wished she had at their age, having real conversations, and creating self-belief and fearlessness for the next generation of players.
The programme hosted 10 young Danish female footballers at their launch event in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event was filled with discussing topics such as ambition, pressure and self-belief all from Harder herself. Harder shared this statement about what motivated her in the first place to begin this programme:
“I believe it’s important for me to use my platform, as I am in a position to give back by sharing my experiences to the next generation. So they can go through their career, knowing that not everything is going go be perfect. There will be ups and downs, but hopefully they’ll see what they can do themselves to get through it.”
In addition, Harder also shared what this programme means to her:
“What I am most excited about is to hopefully be able to inspire the girls and show them that even though I’ve achieved some big things in my career, there has been a lot of challenges as well. Not everything has been perfect. So I am looking forward to sharing these insights with them and hopefully they’ll leave with some useful learnings and new perspectives.”
The positive feedback from this programme launch has already created significant attention within the footballing community with many commenting on what an important and major influence this program will have on shaping young women’s mindsets. Søren Weber Juul, Sports Marketing Manager for Nike in Norway and Denmark said:
“Thank you for your incredible effort, energy and honesty at the event. You’re breaking barriers and paving the way for the next generations of players. The girls who attended had an absolutely fantastic day – your passion and leadership truly made it unforgettable.”
Now more than ever the conversation regarding helping and supporting young female footballers through their developmental years and pursuing sports as a career is more prominent than before. We can see this through the copious amount of effort being put in place to guide and nurture these young footballers into the best versions of themselves. With players like Harder at the forefront of developing talent, the future of women’s football is in safe hands.
