Chatteris Town Ladies eyeing more growth in Women's World Cup year
The club has recently won promotion in its second year since forming
A women's grassroots football coach in Cambridgeshire hopes the World Cup will keep the local game ticking as more take up the sport.
Chatteris Town Ladies was formed three years ago, has around 45 women training regularly for the club and also fields youth teams.
The senior team, which plays in the Cambridgeshire Girls and Women’s Football League, won promotion in its second season.
Ellisha Connett coaches at the club and helped launch the ladies’ setup:
“We set the ladies’ team up three years ago; we didn’t know if anyone was going to turn up,” she said.
“I think the World Cup will give young girls the chance to see females playing football.
“They’re going to get coverage on the TV and think ‘you know what, I want to do that’, and going in the back garden, getting a football and practicing those skills.”
The Women's World Cup kicks off tomorrow when co-hosts New Zealand take on Norway, before England face Haiti on Saturday.
Despite the growing number of players, Chatteris Town Ladies face a tough test competing for players due to its rural location in the Cambridgeshire Fens.
It also has to contend with juggling a cost of living crisis.
"It's tough being in a small rural town"
In May, a survey of 3,000 organisations by Sported/Ring Community Pulse found more than 9 in 10 community sports groups, including girls’ grassroots clubs, were ‘extremely or fairly concerned’ on the impact of increased costs.
But players at Chatteris will be helped if struggling.
“It is tough being in a small rural town because your rivals are the town next door; there are a lot more logistics to think about,” Ellisha said.
“We don’t want anybody out there that’s struggling financially to think ‘do I eat tonight or play football’.
“People are having to make difficult decisions so as a club, if we can support people not having to give up a sport they love, that’s where we are.”