100 clubs sign up for On the Ball campaign as football tackles period poverty

Last September, Clapton CFC were proud to become the 20th club to support the On The Baw campaign, by providing free sanitary products at Wadham Lodge.

They’ve now passed the amazing milestone of 100 clubs signing up – from Aberdeen to Portsmouth, Shamrock Rovers to Norwich, Premier League to Step 8, Recife in Brazil to Altona 93 in Germany, and even some rugby clubs.

On the Baw recently worked on a short documentary with the BBC, and attended the TUC conference in September in Brighton, as they spread the message far and wide.

Period poverty continues to be a pressing issue – with millions of people unable to access sanitary products when they need to. 

There’s no reason why anyone at a Clapton game should feel anxious about getting ‘caught out’ – sanitary products should be as readily available as soap and toilet roll.

On the Ball (alternatively spelt On the Baw) started in March 2018, with three women studying, supporting Celtic and with a big idea.

We spoke to Mikaela to ask how things have been going as the campaign enters its second season….

The response to the campaign so far has been class! The majority of folk are so supportive of our campaign and want their clubs to get involved.

It’s been a bit of a positive surprise to see SO many guys get involved in the discussion around the availability of period products and the wider issues around menstruation… we didn’t expect to see the level of support we’ve received.

With every new club, we get the usual negative or confused type of comments, but we either ignore these or look to open up the conversation and get people thinking more about our point of view and we’ve seen a lot of minds change over the last year.

The campaign has been mostly fan-led, with fans reading about the campaign’s beginnings at Celtic, and asking for advice on adopting the campaign at their club.

Mikaela emphasised that “friendship through football extends far and wide.”

“We know this from having pals from clubs in Sweden, France and Germany ourselves! We’d love it if fans could speak with their friends of other clubs and tell them about the campaign!

CCFC will continue to provide free sanitary products at home games. Our local friends at Leyton Orient and West Ham United are also signed up.

But if you follow another club and they’re not On The Ball yet why not encourage them to do so?

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