Tessa Wullaert: Helping girls in Belgium find their place in grassroots football
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
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The Belgium captain knows what it takes to reach the top. She is now using that experience to support the next generation through grassroots football.
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As her country's all-time leading scorer, the first Belgian player to reach 100 international goals and the first Belgian woman nominated for the Ballon d'Or Féminin, Tessa Wullaert has already secured her place in European football history.
But alongside her own achievements, the FC Como Women player is increasingly focused on where the next generation's journey begins – grassroots football.
Through GRLPWR, the initiative she launched in 2021, Wullaert is using her experience and profile to give girls in Belgium more opportunities to play, develop and, above all, enjoy football.
With one former participant now competing in the UEFA Women's Champions League, Wullaert is starting to see young players follow in her footsteps to the highest level of the game.
Putting girl power into practice
Before it inspired the name of her grassroots initiative, 'Girl Power' was Wullaert’s first tattoo, which she got after signing for Wolfsburg to mark the start of her career abroad.
Years later, while playing for Anderlecht and training only in the evenings, she began thinking about what she could build alongside her playing career.
"Sitting at home doing nothing isn't really for me," she says. "I started thinking about what I enjoyed, where I wanted to invest my time and what I could already start building for my future after football."
GRLPWR was the result. What began as training sessions has grown to include football camps, club visits and the Tessa Wullaert Cup. The inaugural edition of the tournament in 2023 brought together 32 teams across Under-13 and Under-16 age groups.
"At a GRLPWR camp, I am reminded of why I started playing football myself. It is about having fun and learning."
For Wullaert, creating opportunities specifically for girls matters, because barriers remain at grassroots level.
"Girls shouldn't feel lonely or excluded," Wullaert says. "They need the right support, a platform where they can develop and enough places where they can actually play."
GRLPWR camps provide an environment where girls from across Belgium can come together. Depending on the edition, around 40 to 60 girls take part, combining two daily football sessions with other activities.
The girls come to improve their football, but Wullaert wants them to leave with more than sharper skills.
"At a GRLPWR camp, I am reminded of why I started playing football myself," she says. "It is about having fun and learning."
When childhood heroes become team-mates
At a GRLPWR camp in Durbuy, a young Anouk Van Praet had the chance to learn from one of her heroes. She later competed in the Tessa Wullaert Cup, winning the tournament alongside a team of football friends from different clubs.
Today, Van Praet plays for OH Leuven, competing at the highest level of Belgian women's football and in the Women's Champions League.
"My mum signed me up for the camp because I really looked up to the Red Flames players," Van Praet says. "I thought it was special to watch them play, and I also loved having the opportunity to meet them."
For Van Praet, initiatives such as GRLPWR offer young players something beyond football training.
"They not only create opportunities to develop as a player, but also give young girls confidence, motivation and the feeling that their ambitions are achievable. That makes a big difference, both on and off the pitch."
The players she once watched with admiration have since become team-mates and opponents.
"What I would never have dared to dream back then is that I would now be on the same pitch as some of those players, either playing alongside them or against them."
Wullaert remembers seeing Van Praet at her camps. She takes particular satisfaction from watching the players she once coached go on to achieve success.
"My mum signed me up for the GLRPWR camp because I really looked up to the Red Flames players. I never dared to dream I would be on the same pitch as some of those players."
"Seeing a girl progress like that is special," she says. "You think that perhaps we contributed even one per cent to her journey."
Wullaert now wants GRLPWR to continue growing and reach more girls, with ambitions to expand the programme beyond Belgium.
"Ultimately, GRLPWR isn't only for girls in Belgium," Wullaert says. "It is something everyone can understand and stand behind."