With the FIFA Men's World Cup gripping the nation, pupils everywhere are buzzing about football. Here's how teachers can channel that energy - and make sure every pupil feels the game is for them

Ask any teacher what their classroom feels like during a major football tournament and the answer is usually the same: electric. The FIFA Men's World Cup has a way of doing something remarkable - it makes every pupil, seemingly overnight, care deeply about the game. Schools can build on that energy right now with free FA World Cup classroom resources.

But for many young people - particularly girls and those who've never seen themselves reflected in football's biggest stages - that excitement can come with a quiet undercurrent: is this really for me?

It's a question The FA and Barclays have been working hard to answer. Their Made for this Game: Breaking Barriers programme gives teachers a free set of resources designed to help schools tackle the barriers that girls face in football, sport and across school life - creating environments where every girl feels confident, included and ready to take part.

What is Made for this Game?

Made for this Game: Breaking Barriers is a free programme developed by The FA and Barclays for schools, built around the belief that football - and sport more broadly - should be genuinely inclusive, not just in theory but in practice, in everyday classrooms and on everyday playing fields. The resources are curriculum-linked and designed to break down the barriers to participation, helping every pupil feel that they belong. 

The programme offers resources for KS2 and KS3 pupils across two interconnected strands. Primary school is where confidence in sport begins - yet research shows 71 per cent of girls feel excluded by boys when playing football in primary school. The Equality Champions strand helps teachers challenge these experiences early by opening up simple, age-appropriate conversations about inclusion, confidence and fairness in sport. Pupils become advocates for change in their own schools, planning and sharing campaign messages and building the peer support skills to challenge stereotypes about who the game is 'for.'

Secondary school is a critical time for girls' confidence in sport - yet research shows 63 per cent of girls disengage from sport during secondary school due to low body confidence. The Body Confidence strand helps teachers open up meaningful conversations with students about body confidence and respect in sport, school and wider life, through the practical 'Change, Challenge, Choose' framework - helping every pupil recognise that every body belongs.

Together, the resources build the language, confidence and conviction to keep those conversations going long after the lesson ends.

Why the World Cup moment matters

There is something uniquely powerful about a World Cup for getting young people talking about football. The excitement is infectious, the conversations are already happening - in the playground, at home, in the back of the car - and teachers who can tap into that energy have a real opportunity.

But the World Cup also throws the question of inclusion into sharp relief. Who do pupils see on screen? Whose stories are told? Whose are absent? The Made for this Game resources give teachers a curriculum-linked, easy-to-use framework for opening those conversations - breaking down the barriers to participation and making sure every pupil in the room feels the game belongs to them too.

All resources are completely free, require minimal preparation, and are flexible enough to sit in PE, PSHE, wellbeing or inclusion sessions. They are available here.