Salisbury mother reveals joy of joining Ladies football team
Leanne Ford joined the Whites Ladies team in the wake of the Lionesses success
A Salisbury mother has told us the growth of women's football in England led to her daughter inspiring her to join the Salisbury Ladies team.
Leanne Ford, who plays as a striker for the Whites, says being part of the team has brought a number of boosts to her life.
She told Greatest Hits Radio that she'd always wanted to play when she was younger, but "there wasn't that many opportunities to do that".
But when one of her daughters showed a desire to play, it helped inspire Leanne to get out on the pitch.
She found the Salisbury team, run by Dave Sawyer and became part of the squad.
"It was only about two years ago, so I was 34 at the time, at which point most people think that the time's been and gone. But I joined the team and it's just gone from there and I really enjoy it," she said.
Leanne says she loves being part of the team, telling us it's brough a social side that she didn't think she could have.
She told us some of the other benefits it brought: "It's actually built my confidence quite a lot," she said. "To go out at the Ray Mac and play in front of a stadium with 150 people, you just got to get on with it.
"It's probably one of the proudest things I've ever done in my whole life, so it gives me a really good sense of myself."
Leanne said the increased opportunities for women and girls has provided her daughter with alternatives to running or the gym for getting active.
Its also let her have the opportunity to coach her daughter's team.
"We opened up to all these girls that had never kicked a ball before and two years later we were Plate runners up in the South Newton tournament at Hudson Field, so it's just amazing that these girls just need an opportunity and they just go with it," she said.
Leanne told us the success of the Lionesses proves to women and girls across Wiltshire that they too can play.
The team are in the midst of the Euro 2025 tournament and face Sweden in the Quarter Finals on Thursday (17/7), after finishing second in their group behind France.
The winners will take on Italy in the Semi Final.