Rachel Yankey - 'Heart' of England Women's National Football Team at UEFA Women's EURO

GENEVA, July 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --



A recent survey revealed that one in three British women do not do enough physical activity per week, putting themselves at risk of heart disease and stroke. Ahead of the UEFA Women's EURO 2013, kicking off on 10 July in Sweden, England midfielder Rachel Yankey has teamed up with players from the other participating teams to form 'The Heart Team', to promote exercise and a heart-healthy lifestyle amongst women and girls to help prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD), which causes 28 per cent of premature deaths amongst women in Britain. 'The Heart Team' is the official team of the 'Make a Healthy Heart Your Goal' campaign, which is organized jointly by the World Heart Federation, UEFA, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and the Swedish Football Association.

Meet the 'Heart' of England's women's national football team

Having qualified unbeaten for EURO 2013, England is one of the strongest contenders to win this year's tournament. In the lead up to the tournament, Rachel gave us her key tips to stay fit and healthy all year round, "obviously playing and training keeps me very fit but I do some extra work in the gym. We have a special programme given to us by the England medical staff so I have to stick to that outside of game-time". Along with the regular training sessions and her daily exercise regime, Rachel attributes a healthy diet as one of the main ways to stay fit and healthy.  

Football for Rachel is a vital part of her daily life, but for all women and girls it can help reduce the risk of CVD responsible for the deaths of one in three women worldwide. We asked Rachel how she got involved in football; "I was an Arsenal fan when I was younger and I used to love watching Ian Wright. I love the way he played, the way he scored goals and the way he always looked like he was having fun on the pitch. That's what inspired me to become a footballer."

Rachel's top tips to stay fit and healthy

"If you like sport I'd suggest taking up your favourite sport or joining a team. That way you can stay fit while you're having fun. Or if you can't commit that much time maybe just go for a run a couple of times a week. And obviously try and eat healthily, too."

Women's football was one of the biggest success stories of London 2012 and it's now the third-most popular sport in terms of participation, with 252,000 women across the UK playing every month. The survey revealed however that more than two million women in the UK are just below the threshold for a healthy level of physical activity: they could reduce their risk of CVD if they set themselves the goal of doing just one hour more of playing sport per week.

Rachel has joined 'The Heart Team' to inspire women and girls across Europe to do that bit extra and include physical activities like playing football in their everyday lives. "When I'm not playing or training I'm out in schools coaching young kids. I love being involved in football every day".

Position: Midfield
Born: 01/11/1979
Height: 1.64m 
Weight: 56 kg 
Club: Arsenal Ladies FC
Successes: first England player (men or women) to win 126 caps

"It is wonderful to see players from the competing teams joining together to encourage women and girls to lead an active lifestyle and practise sports such as football. Football is an empowering and unifying force and UEFA believes that every girl should have the opportunity to play football regardless of skill or talent", said Karen Espelund, Member of the UEFA Executive Committee and Chairwoman of the UEFA Women's Football Committee.

"Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, is estimated to kill 23 million people by 2030. Physical inactivity is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease accountable for 3.2 million deaths globally and the upcoming UEFA Women's EURO provides a great opportunity to inspire women and girls to kick-start heart-healthy behaviours, to avoid paying the penalty of an inactive lifestyle", said Johanna Ralston, CEO of the World Heart Federation.

England will play their first match on 12 July against Spain and end the group against France six days later. Whilst they enter the tournament unbeaten, the English team face some tough competition. At EURO 2009 England were defeated by Germany in the final. For the first time since the Women's EURO's inception in 1984, all of England's matches will be broadcast live on national TV - the BBC has acquired the TV rights in the UK.

About the survey
The survey was commissioned by the World Heart Federation and conducted by YouGov in five European countries, France, Germany, UK, Denmark and Sweden, with a total sample size of 6,172 adults, between the 22^nd and the 26^th February 2013. The survey asked respondents how many minutes of vigorous and moderate physical activity they do in one week. The survey results were compared with World Health Organisation's Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health to find out how active women are.

About The Heart Team
The Heart Team of the UEFA Women's EURO 2013 is a team made up of one player from the competing teams. It is the official team of the 'Make a Healthy Heart Your Goal' campaign. The team is comprised of players from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, Italy, Germany, Iceland, England, Russia, Holland and Spain. The players were chosen by the participating national football associations. Members of the team will act as physical activity and heart-healthy ambassadors during the tournament.

About the "Make a Healthy Heart your Goal" campaign
The World Heart Federation, in partnership with UEFA, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation and the Swedish Football Association are coming together at the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 to support the Go Red for Women campaign and its fight against CVD, the number one killer of women. This campaign encourages women and girls to lead an active, healthy lifestyle and practise sports such as football to help reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke. For more information about the campaign: http://www.worldheart.org/womenseuro; #EURO2013

About the World Heart Federation
The World Heart Federation is dedicated to leading the global fight against heart disease and stroke, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries, via a united community of more than 200 member organizations. It aligns its efforts around the World Health Organization target of reducing premature death from 25 per cent by 2025. With its members, the World Heart Federation works to build global commitment to addressing cardiovascular health at the policy level, generates and exchanges ideas, shares best practice, advances scientific knowledge and promotes knowledge transfer to tackle cardiovascular disease - the world's number one killer. It is a growing membership organization that brings together the strength of cardiac societies and heart foundations from more than 100 countries. Through our collective efforts we can help people all over the world to lead longer and better heart-healthy lives. For more information, please visit: http://www.worldheart.org; twitter.com/worldheartfed; http://www.facebook.com/worldheartfederation.

About UEFA Women's EURO
The UEFA European Women's Championship is the most prestigious European national team football competition for women. It is played every four years, over two seasons, alternating with the European qualifying competition for the FIFA Women's World Cup. In 2013, it will take place in Sweden from 10 to 28 July.

Contact details
Léna Hässig
Campaigns and Communications Manager
+41-22-807-03-27