The latest Player Advocate to pledge support to Her Game Too is a club captain and youth football coach who is passionate about encouraging females to take up football.

Scott Barrow joins his Darlington team-mate Will Hatfield as the National League North outfit’s second Player Advocate.

The 36-year old defender is coming up to his 500th career game and believes instilling a love of football in young people teaches them valuable life skills - with the potential for female participation to continue growing being an exciting prospect.

“I think women’s football can be massive - it’s getting bigger now but in four or five years’ time it’ll have grown even more,” Scott said.

“It doesn't matter if you play football or cricket, rugby, tennis - sport is for both men and women and we want girls and boys to both be equal in whatever sport they play.”

After progressing through Swansea City’s youth section, Scott’s playing career has included spells with Tamworth, Macclesfield Town, Gateshead, York City and Newport County - the latter a club he describes as “a dream come true” as it brought him home to Wales where he grew up.

“I'm pretty proud to make 500 games to be honest as I didn't think I'd make that at this level, so I'm looking forward to reaching that little landmark - I’ve had a good career.”

After sustaining a serious leg injury as a teenager that almost ended his career before it had got going, Scott plays every game with a smile on his face because he feels privileged to have achieved his ambition of playing football.

He credits the support of his sports-orientated family with being key to his success, including his dad, who is a former Welsh international swimmer, and his mum and sister, who have both played netball at a high level.

“When I was younger and played football, my sister would always come onto the street and play football alongside me. 

“I’ve always had that supportive background from my family because they’ve been there and done it in sport, so that drives you on to be the best you can be.

“Moving away from home for football is probably one of the hardest things to do, but I always had the support - especially from my mum who will come to every game she can get to.

“Growing up, she would take me to training, take me to all the playing venues, buy my boots until I was old enough to buy my own and, when I was at Swansea, she used to do all the admin and things like that - which often goes unnoticed, but from my mum I’ve always appreciated it.

“I’m now 36 and still appreciate everything she does; she texts me every Saturday morning at the same time to say ‘good luck today’ - little things like that.

“My mum and dad have both been brilliant for me in my journey, I’ve always had the dream of playing football and they have pushed me to go on and achieve that dream in different ways.”

Scott heard about Her Game Too through a friend, Charlotte Potts, who plays for Newcastle United Women, and is keen to support the campaign after witnessing the work Her Game Too’s Darlington Ambassador, Joanne Cameron, has been doing at the club.

Outside of playing, he coaches secondary school football to both boys and girls through Fast Feet Football Academy and has an interest in potentially coaching in women’s football in the future.

“There are a lot of girls who are very, very talented but they don’t always get the recognition or opportunities to go on and play at a higher level.

“I feel there’s so much potential in women’s football, especially in grassroots, because that sometimes gets overlooked.

“I sometimes mix the boys and girls together at school and they’re usually as good as each other.”

Scott believes that while change and equality don’t happen overnight, small steps are currently being taken that will eventually bring the women’s and men’s games in line with each other - including access to facilities, pay, resources and exposure.

“I’ve seen Newcastle United Women go from being a part-time club, training a couple of times a week, to now being a full-time team - their recent Women’s Championship match against Sunderland got a crowd of over 15,000.”

Scott is keen to instil a love of football in the young people he coaches so that they can reap the benefits he’s enjoyed throughout his playing career.

“I’ve loved football all my life; for me it’s never about winning or losing, it’s about playing the sport I love.

“So if you can get girls playing football from a young age and they can keep building on that all the way up through the age groups, then eventually they’ll be part of a women’s team.

“It’s all about development, it’s about learning life skills - team bonding, working as a team to help each other out, so that when they’re older they will have those qualities to take into the workplace and other areas of their lives.

“I want to see women’s and girls’ football grow further in every part of the UK because girls can gain so much from being footballers.”

Scott always strives to make his training sessions fun and engaging so his young players commit to the sport.

“If I can inspire girls to come and train, and keep on training, then I’m doing my job as a Player Advocate.

“When they keep rocking up to training, week after week, that puts a smile on my face and I want to give back because I got that support when I was growing up.”

Darlington are planning to hold their Her Game Too dedicated fixture on 11th March, when they host Radcliffe at Blackwell Meadows.

Joanne Cameron, Her Game Too’s Darlington Ambassador, said: “Her Game Too Darlington welcome the addition of our captain Scott Barrow to our team.

“Scott’s enthusiasm is infectious, as is his passion for inclusion and sport being for all.

“With our dedicated Her Game Too fixture being on 11^th March, as Darlington’s closest home fixture to International Women’s Day, we welcome Scott’s input in making this day successful.”

You can read more about Her Game Too here

https://www.hergametoo.co.uk/