10-year-olds twins raise £14k for Coventry United Ladies as club saved from liquidation
A fan fundraiser was set up days after voluntary liquidation was announced
Last updated 6th Jan 2022
Twin girls have raised over £14,000 for Coventry United Ladies, after the club announced it was having to go into voluntary liquidation before Christmas.
10-year-old Coventry Ladies supporters Alice and Hattie set up the fundraiser to support the players during the difficult period, and after the target of £10k was hit within days, it's now up to nearly £15,000.
Alice said she wanted to do what she could to help the players who inspired her:
"If they hadn't have been a team then I wouldn't have really started playing football", she said.
"I was relieved because I hadn’t realised up until the day that they could have gone into liquidation, I hadn’t really realised what it actually meant.”
A much-needed show of support
Since the fundraiser began, Coventry Ladies have been saved after an agreement was reached with a Midlands energy company to take over the club.
But Alice and Hattie's dad, Michael, says the the cash raised will still be important for the players while the final details of the takeover are arranged.
“We decided to bring it to a head on Saturday because we want to get the money to the ladies as quickly as we can, because there is a chance that they’ll be a shortfall as they switch from one owner to the other, and the ladies will be without funds, so we’re desperately trying to get as much as we can as quickly as we can.”
He went on to say that the ladies have been overwhelmed by the support:
“When you have a moment like this when the world feels against you and you’re very sad, to know that wonderful people are rallying round can really lift you, and those ladies are really lifted and very grateful.”
Onwards and upwards
Having only gone fully professional as a women's team this season, Coventry Ladies were only on for a brief tenure in the Championship when announcing liquidation on December 23.
But Lewis Taylor, Chief Executive of Midlands firm Energy Angels, is set to invest between £200,000 and £250,000 to ensure the club can finish the season.
He's also ready to buy the club after reaching an agreement with shareholders. He says his aspirations don't stop at keeping them afloat:
Taylor told Sky Sports: "We're not doing this just to keep the team together this season. That's the immediate concern, but I wouldn't be here doing this if it was only for this season.
"There's a potential to play WSL here, which should always be the goal."