A FOOTBALL charity has launched a campaign to promote successful women in the region.

MFC Foundation’s Boro Makes Me Campaign will bring together athletes, TV presenters and businesswomen with Middlesbrough heritage to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Helena Bowman, head of MFC Foundation, and former Olympic athlete Allison Curbishley launched the campaign ahead of Middlesbrough’s FA Cup victory against Oxford United on Saturday.

The initiative will also feature Olympic Gold Medallist rower Kat Copeland, Team GB swimmer Aimee Wilmott, Sky Sports News presenter Hayley McQueen, and Games of Thrones actress Faye Marsay.

Ms Curbishley said she felt Middlesbrough was a town young girls can be proud to call home.

“I’m lucky enough to follow athletics all over the world, and the one thing that stands out is your accent, so as soon as you start talking you hear that Teesside accent and you just get it.

“I’m very proud of my local roots, and it’s great to always come back, whether it’s to see a match at the Riverside or visiting friends and family, its home.”

Ms Bowman added: “Middlesbrough is a very proud part of the country, boasting a Premier League football club, an ever-growing university and some of the leading sports athletes and businesswomen in the country.

“There are no limits to what young girls can go on to achieve in their lives, whether in sport or education, and as a charity MFC Foundation are trying to raise their aspirations across the projects that we have.”

International Women’s Day will be held on March 8.