The Manchester girls' football brand at the heart of the grassroots community

There's Manchester red and Manchester blue, and then there's the community in between, and that's where Abby Corbett steps in. As the founder of Sokker Girls, she has been integral in enabling young girls to enjoy football without limits.

Sokker Girls champions diversity in football in Manchester, providing young girls at every level of the game with the opportunity to have a kit that fits (and that they like), donating to grassroots causes but also teaming up with others in the community to tell young girls that there is a place for them out there on the field.

“It's common sense, isn't it? Don't let your menstrual cycle stop your game,” she told MEN Sport while sipping coffee at a local football venue. “A few months ago we were looking into sanitary towels because when I was a coach we had to carry sanitary products for any child on the pitch. But what if your coach is a man?”

She winced and continued, “At age 11-12 are you really going to approach them? I mean 15-16? No, even a grown woman probably wouldn't want to.

“So what we’ve done is kept the same design but we’ve put a pouch in it at the back that will hide all the sanitary products - the kids can take them to football and no one will see them.”

The former Stockport County player refers to a boot bag designed specifically to help young girls feel comfortable around football. She continued: “We’ve looked everywhere but cannot find a boot bag that has a hidden pouch specifically for that product.

“And the feedback has been absolutely unreal. It's sold really well because the kids just don't want the embarrassment, and why should they stop doing what they want to do just because of that?”

I nodded in agreement as the embarrassing memories raced to the forefront