A youngster who quit football after feeling picked on for being the only girl to turn up for trials has got back on the field with the help of a Kent team.

Ella Barber, eight, tried out for a club last year but says she didn’t feel comfortable playing alongside all boys.

Her dad Alex Barber said: “They were asking her why she was there, telling her there was no point in her playing because she was a girl.

“Ella came home and was upset. She stopped wanting to do anything and she did not really recover from it.

“She did not want to do any sports or anything she felt was for boys because of it. Her confidence was really affected.

“It got to a point where we went on holiday that summer and she was watching the football on my phone but put it down when she saw another group of girls. She was embarrassed.

“I have never really thought about it until I saw that. It is not right, it stopped her from doing something she loved and made her embarrassed of it.”

Alex said the club did deal with the situation but he realised the experience had left Ella with a stigma over the sport she loved at such a young age, and so messaged Dartford FC Women's player Gabby Howell on X, formally known as Twitter.

She had posted about the sexist trolling and online abuse she receives on social media for being a footballer – including comments like “How come you are out of the kitchen?” and “That is the trouble with women’s football, I think players are picked on looks rather than talent”.

When she heard about Ella’s experience she made it her mission to get her back on the pitch.

The youngster, who had previously played for Dartford girls’ team and would go to matches with younger sisters Daisy and Rosie before they moved away, met Gabby and the other players and slowly gained her confidence back after being inspired by seeing them play.

The eight-year-old is now back on the pitch with a new club, but still returns to Dartford occasionally to play there too.

Dad-of-three Alex said: “It took a couple of months and she was back into it. It took its toll on her at such a young age, but now she uses it as an asset instead of a negative.

“She is now out there showing them they are wrong. Ella has a passion for football, she wants to prove that she can do it.”

Alex, along with wife Kayleigh Barber, decided to write a children’s book after they learned that Ella's experience was not unique, and most of the girls in the Dartford club had been through the same.

Ella Plays Football is about showing young girls that they can be anything they want – including a footballer - and has been supported throughout by Dartford FC Women.

A spokeswoman for the club said: “As a team, we are fully behind the message promoted in the book. Although in recent years the awareness, participation and respect for the women’s game has grown massively, there is still loads of room for improvement.

“Football is still seen as a boys’ sport and changing that mindset and giving girls an equal opportunity to play from an early age is still a work in progress.

“At Dartford, we have girls teams from all ages and the standard is amazing. For some of the older women at the club, it is totally different from when we were kids – we did not get to watch women play very often, matches did not pack out stadiums and games were not shown on the TV.

“The fact that it is so visible and accessible now means girls really can make their dreams of being a footballer a reality. Ella’s book does a great job of promoting the message that you can be whoever you want to be, and that applies to so much more than football.

“The book is a result of true passion, real people and genuine kindness and that is why its message resonates with so many people.

“We want to tell girls to just do it. If your daughter, sister, or friend shows an interest in football, encourage it wholeheartedly. We are all responsible for elevating the women's game, not just the players.

“Football is a sport for all, it brings people together, it helps create friendships that last a lifetime and it gives young people an outlet to express themselves and learn new things – why shouldn’t girls be part of such a beautiful game?”

Ella Plays Football was released last month and a percentage of sales is being invested into grassroots football.

The husband-and-wife duo behind the book have also finished a sequel which is aimed at targeting the male stereotypes for female majority activities.