Messi, Bellingham, and Zidane join the cause to keep girls in football

Global sports apparel brand Adidas has launched a fantastic new initiative featuring some the top athletes in the world to encourage young girls to stay in football.

The story

Adidas has announced its new campaign, which is aimed at motivating the 43% of girls that quit sport at the age of 13 to stay in football. The initiative showcases the power and potential of young girls having a future in the sport.

"To do this the brand has recreated the iconic Jose+10 image – originally created in 2006 to celebrate the amazing talent on show that summer – with today’s heroes and role models such as Alessia Russo, Kadidiatou Diani, Linda Dallmann, Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi, alongside legends of game like David Beckham, Kaká, and Zinedine Zidane," a statement provided to KickOff confirmed.

"This time fronted by a young girl - the striking visual aims to inspire the next generation to stay in the game, by highlighting the powerful role models, fans of the sport, and icons of today that exist for them across football."

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One of the footballers involved in the initiative, Wendie Renard, France and Olympique Lyonnais defender said: “I remember the age of 13 very clearly – there is a lot going on in a young girl’s life at that age, so it can be very easy for sport to drop off the priority list.

"But sport is such a brilliant thing – it teaches us so much, builds confidence and delivers life lessons and values that we keep with us, forever. Writing a note to my 13-year-old self, brought all those feelings back to me.

"So, my message to youngsters would be to continue having fun, to persevere and even in