adidas is stepping forward with its biggest ever commitment to women in sport with the launch of their Breaking Barriers Academy.

The Three Stripes commissioned Women Win and streetfootballworld within communities across Europe, to create a detailed ‘whitepaper report’ - due to be released later this year -  to better understand the core issues affecting women and girls in sport.

In an executive summary of the report released exclusively for International Women’s Day, adidas found that gender stereotyping, inadequate coaching, and a lack of resources were the most significant hurdles experienced.

Armed with those insights, adidas created the Breaking Barriers Academy - a new digital curriculum for coaches, staff, sports organisations and athletes who are driving systemic change for women and girls in sport.

Launched across Europe today, the curriculum is made up of three modules: ‘In The Organisations’, ‘On The Sidelines’ and ‘On The Pitch’. Focusing on leadership training that will empower individuals to lead and coach gender-sensitive activities, whilst developing personal skills as an inclusive role model.  All modules will offer key knowledge on how to access, retain, and recruit more women in sport, whilst being a more inclusive coach and teammate.

“Girls and women in sport still need to win twice." said Arthur Hoeld, Managing Director EMEA, adidas.

"Not only in the match, but just to get on the field. The challenges are real, and we must break those barriers. The Breaking Barriers Academy and wider project is not a campaign, but a commitment to support those people working to unleash the energy, power and talent of every girl doing sports or coaching a team. Together, we can create new possibilities for the next generations of athletes.”

Powered by its 'Impossible is Nothing' attitude, adidas is committed to creating real, lasting change in 2022 and beyond.

The Breaking Barriers Academy is part of the wider Breaking Barriers Project which is a five-year commitment to work closely with 15 organisations including the Johan Cruyff Foundation.

By working directly with each organisation and creating 100+ Breaking Barriers Champions, adidas aims to reach in excess of 50,000+ girls and women in sport.

More information about the Breaking Barriers Academy can be found via adidas' website.