A new women’s football section has been set up at a Huddersfield sports complex … and it’s got off to a flying start.
Two teams are now up and running at Laund Hill Community Club in Salendine Nook after 28 players responded to the chance to join the club … and they do far more than football.
For the women have taken part in several charity events and have a great social life since they began playing last autumn.
The two teams have just started this season in a seven-a-side league which is based in Dewsbury but the player who set up the team, Leanne Foreman, hopes other women across Huddersfield will be inspired to set up similar teams and, ultimately, a Huddersfield league.
It came about after Leanne and Claire Smith both approached Laund Hill about setting up a women’s team so teamed up to make the idea happen.
Leanne said: “It all started last October. I’d not played football for a while and was approaching 40 so wanted to try to get back into it but most of the women’s teams wanted players of a certain ability who were very committed so were not really interested in me.
“That’s when I spotted a gap for women who want to play football for the sheer enjoyment and Claire was thinking the same.
“Laund Hill have been incredibly supportive, especially as they have just about every kind of team there except a women’s football team.’’
The rallying cry led to 28 women wanting to play and they now run two teams in a women’s beginners league which is based in Dewsbury.
Leanne said: “We had far more interest than we ever expected and we hadn’t even planned to join a league yet both teams are in it – Laund Hill Ladies and Laund Hill Lionesses.
The ability in both teams is mixed and features some who have played at a county level and even for Huddersfield Town alongside others who had hardly kicked a ball before. The youngest player is 17 and the oldest 48.
Leanne says the enthusiasm, encouragement and camaraderie is now so strong that none of the players wanted a summer break and they trained right through.
The club has two coaches, Ben Gordon and Bianca Collins-Sharp.
Several players have taken part in charity events together such as Race For Life.
They train between 7pm and 8pm on Friday nights at Laund Hill and then all get together in the bar, often joined by their families.
“It’s an excellent spirit,’’ said Leanne. “We do such a lot of social stuff too it’s more like one big family.’’
The beginner’s league the teams play in is run by West Riding FA. All the games are seven-a-side and all the teams in the league play at St John Fisher School in Dewsbury on Sunday afternoons.
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
