A girls only football club is hoping to inspire more players to join up after visiting a sporting icon in the House of Lords.

Players from AFC Leyton Girls visited Tanni Grey-Thompson at the House of Lords on Wednesday (April 20) to discuss the sport’s future.

The club is only a year old but it boasts more than a 100 girls playing with plans in place to attract many more.

Baroness Grey-Thompson said: “The feeling of self-worth when you have gone out and done your best is an amazing one.

“For girls this can be especially valuable and clubs like AFC Leyton are a great place to start.

“It was really interesting to hear from teenage girls about what they want from sport and how we can improve things.

“Too many drop out of sport and never go back to it.

“Let’s work together to change that."

The club is adding two new teams for next season with an under 9s and under 18 team which will play in the Capital Girls League.

Club chair, Paul Burke said: "Lots of these girls come from very difficult backgrounds where the government seems so far out of reach, but this trip brings it home.

“Our ethos at AFC Leyton is to promote the empowerment of girls and women through sport.

“Being a grass roots team in a small corner of London our talent pool is limited which is why we are always looking out for girls that want to play.

For more information on how to join email afcleytongirls@outlook.com or call 07971 820829.