Stoke City outlines new plans for women's team
There's set to be a significant increase in funding
Stoke City FC have marked International Women’s Day by announcing a significant increase in funding for the Club’s women’s team.
The side will become semi-professional from the 2023-24 season onwards and operate under the full control of Technical Director Ricky Martin.
Owners, bet365 Group, say they want to reaffirm their financial commitment as the Club looks to build on the huge progress made in the sport in recent years.
After financial commitment doubled this season, it's set increase significantly further from the summer onwards with the aim of bringing success to the women’s team and encouraging young girls in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire to participate.
Joint Chairman John Coates said: “The changes we are announcing today have been in the planning for a number of months and International Women’s Day was the perfect opportunity to finally make this announcement.
"The changes represent a highly significant uplift in the funding of the women’s team with improvements to infrastructure and support. We believe these changes will give the women’s team the necessary investment to achieve sustainable success, starting with promotion to the Championship.”
Technical Director Ricky Martin added: “It is an exciting time for women’s and girls’ football in this country and we have a clear roadmap of where we want to take our women’s team.
“Our owners share that vision and I have no doubt that their financial commitment will provide us with a solid foundation to achieve our ambitions, both in the short and long-term.”