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Women in Football are delighted to welcome Simone Pound as our new Ambassador. Simone has worked tirelessly for equality in football in her role at the Professional Footballers Association - and we look forward to working closely with her to ensure all women who work in the football industry feel welcome and empowered to make a difference in our national game.

Simone graduated from De Montfort University with a 2.1 Honours in Performing Arts which will not surprise anyone who knows her well.

She joined the PFA in 2000 to develop female player representation at a time when Fulham FC had the first and only professional women’s football team.  She worked to establish that first cohort of players as PFA members and has continued to tackle under-representation of women and minority groups in the game ever since.

She became PFA Head of Equality and Diversity in 2005 and has worked with anti-discrimination campaign Kick It Out as a Trustee between 2007-2014 and as a supporter and campaigner from 2000 to the present day.

She was enrolled into the Show Racism the Red Card Hall of Fame in 2011 at a ceremony in the Houses of Parliament and is an Ambassador for the organisation which works with schools, colleges and young people using football to encourage inclusion and anti-discrimination.

Simone has been instrumental working with other trade unions, campaigning groups, and football authorities to address homophobia in the game working with players, coaches and supporters groups to change the culture of the game. She created footballs first poster campaign “Gay or Straight We Are All Winners” and has worked with Stonewall and LGBT Football Groups to support and promote their work.

In 2010 Simone worked with mental health groups Time to Change and Mind to create The Footballers Guidebook, an innovative resource that helped dispel stigma’s around mental health for footballers and encouraged them to consider their mental health alongside their physical health. This helped create greater understanding for and of players well-being needs during and after their playing careers. The Footballers Guidebook has been redistributed to Italy, Spain, the USA and Australia.

In 2011 Simone developed the Equality and Diversity Programme for First Team players to help combat discriminatory language and behavior on and off-field. It clearly outlines to players that as well as laws of the game there are laws of the land which they must also comply with.  This has been delivered to over 2,000 players to considerable acclaim.

 At the time of writing, Simone is developing an Off Field Integrity Programme for First Team football players to address issues around respectful relationships in real life and on social media including sexual consent. She has worked closely with women’s group and advisors to provide a program that will create a greater level of understanding around sexual consent laws and legalities.

“My focus is using football as a tool to educate and inspire change. The culture of the game is evolving and it is important that we open up to encourage greater diversity at all levels of the game. If I can help with this in any way then I will.”

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