The Football Association (FA) and Sport England have joined forces with the Premier League and The Football League to increase the number of women and girls taking part in football sessions.

A £2.4m investment over the next two years from Sport England will see the Premier League and Football League clubs deliver season-long coaching programmes to more than 40,000 new female players try the sport.

The initiative is the first time The FA, Premier League and The Football League have worked together to deliver a grassroots women's football programme, with a total of 88 clubs trusts across the country working in tandem with county FAs, schools, colleges and universities to deliver the sessions through Level 2 qualified coaches.

Helen Grant, minister for sport, said: "This is great news for women's football at the grassroots level and shows what can be achieved by football working together.

"The Premier League and Football League clubs pull in the community combined with qualified coaches from The FA will make this a great success and get many more young women playing the game."