What to do when the Football season is on a break?
Music - I love it, so so much
I have been so lucky to be able to fill my last month with festivals and Concerts, some of them working their, others enjoying as a fan;
Download in Donnington - 3 days of rock music. Rock isn't my choice music, but quite a lot of it did grow on me, in particular I now love Alestorm, who I also met backstage. Download covers a large area, with two main stages. Fortunately the weather did shine upon us and it was beautiful all weekend. The main stage was massive, it laid host to amazing acts, finishing with a fantastic set by Aerosmith, who had loads of energy, and sounded great.
I spent 90% of my time working second stage. It was obvious very quickly that this stage was where the bucket list of 'crowdsurfing' was popular. It meant for a busy time for Pit Security. I actually love it, constantly on the lookout for the telltale feet making their way towards front of stage. Several times it was like a tsunami of people coming out of the crowd. I was definately able to keep my fitness up during this festival.
Glastonbury - Talking of bucket lists. Glastonbury should be on everyne's bucket list. It is the most incredible festival. It is suited to everyone in the family, it has around 360 stages, coverimg every type of music, all sorts of comedy and even a variety of presentations. You can be electrified in Block 9, with the incredible DJ's. move on to the wood for a spot of relaxation in front of the real fire. Then jog across to Shangri-la for total music mahem. Get away from it all by going to the holistic area, where you can even get in a cinema visit. We went up to the Glastonbury sign, where the views were stunning and while we were there a chap suddenly went down on one knee and he proposed to his girlfriend - In true Glastonbury style the gathered crowd went into uproar, and the bar handed out special shots.
I was working on the 'Other Stage'. We hosted acts such as George Ezra, Liam Gallagher, Kaiser Chiefs and the most incredible RagnBone Man. The crowd was massive, you couldn't see the end, the atmosphere was electric. The celebrities were all around, and were up and down the celeb rabbit run which takes VIP's from the Pyramid to the Other stage. At one point I was keeping the crowd happy with my kick-ups, only to turn round and see Beckham watching me - Cool!!!
Glastonbury is 24 hours, so as soon as we finished work (around Midnight), we got changed and went out into the site to party the night away. So many choices, so much fun and everyone so nice and in such wonderful moods. It is absolute escapism, it's somewhere that you can be whoever you want to be, it's totally safe, and it's just full of fun, quiet, loud, music, comedy, faith, just everything.
I've got another couple of festivals coming up, but before these I actually managed to go to a couple of concerts as a fan. I went to Elton John, who was great, his audience was a variety of ages. I didn't know all his songs (went with Mum), but I sang along woth those I did know. Tonight I went to see 'Little Mix' - Amazing. I had the best evening, they got the crowd going, I danced non-stop and sang as loud as I could. The atmosphere was fantastic, and their set was so enjoyable.
My off-season is going really quickly, and I still have so much music to go - Love it
It's that time of year again, the 'kick it out, raise your game' conference. Held at the most amazing and inspiring of location, which is the Ethiad Stadium, home of Manchester City. The conference is there to attract all type of females regardless of ethnicity, background, job role or qualifications to either get involved in job roles in football, be inspired or gain advice and guidance on how to excel in your chosen football career path, or there to see what opportunities and options are out there. Therefore, it's pretty much open to any female who has a interest and passion for football.
Throughout the day, you wont be bored. There is everything on offer to attend from Media and career workshops, to one to one sessions, followed by a general talk of leading women already in top roles within football. The workshops are a great way to extend your knowledge on how to get involved, what you need to do to be involved in football and then a summary of the stories from the speakers of there job role and how they got to where they are now. These are all about learning and listening to people who are already in the jobs they want to be in so a great way to inspire the next generation and brilliant way to gain extensive knowledge in how to thrive within the world of football.
The one to one session are of course a lot more intimate then the workshops, as you get the chance to speak one on one to the leading professional in a variety of career paths. This is your opportunity to not ony ask every question under the roof, but being a opportunitiest and telling them how good you are as well, as there are constantly jobs arising and you never know they could be on the look out for someone!
The days agenda provides so much relevant information and fantastic opportunities to lean you towards a career path or maybe even eliminate career path that maybe aren't as up your street as you initially thought, both technically as good as each other.
Of course, the importance of it being at such an inspiring venue such as the Ethiad, only emphasises what is out there for you in your career and hearing the stories of great panel of leading professionals, that one day were all in your position, looking for there way into the industry.
In summary, if you're a female looking to get into the football industry in any way, shape or form. This is like LinkedIn but in real life. Leading professionals that are prodominantly there to help you and offer you all the help they can, to hopefully allow you to get in and go far. Or even if you don't get the opportunity to have a one on one chat, like stated previously the workshops are filled with so much advice from a numerous amount of backgrounds, it's so easy to gain great advice and be inspired to fulfill your dreams.
The most exciting times lie ahead when it comes to the end of the football season, we know what it means dont we? The cup finals. The match where two teams will go head to head for 90, maybe 120 minutes to battle it out for the winners trophy.
This season Radcliffe Olympic Ladies, were lucky enough to be involved for the third year running in the Nottinghamshire women's cup final, against Nottingham Forest Ladies. This game has so much history behind it, which of course only increases the emotion even more, ultimately making it more than just who wears the winner's medals at the end of the game.
The match was played Thursday 27th May, held at Basford UTD's ground. The weather was definitely on our side, maybe a little too much, this obviously then encouraged many local football fans to come down and support both teams and be entertained by a real local derby. Around 300 people attended, so you can imagine the atmosphere of the crowd in ratio with a small ground was pretty amazing, and a pleasure to be involved in.
The game itself, I must admit it was a tough one to play in due to the weather. For the first couple of minutes Forest dominated and tried to show us who was the dominant of this game, however, we, as we always do, took over control after around 20 minutes. Radcliffe were confident on the ball and always looked like we could score when in possession of the ball. However, in the first half we did lack quality on the finishing side, we could definitely of been 3/4 nill up by the time the half time whistle went. But luck wasn't on ourside and it remained 0-0 as we went in for a well deserved break and refreshments.
This is it now, 45 minutes to showcase all that we had worked for within the 2016/17 season, which like most teams, had been full of ups and downs. We came out, straight away taking possession and dominating the game, Forest quite evidently weren't able to play there usual game of football and began to get quite impatient, which of course played in our favour as this meant they were consistently hoofing the ball forward and not really creating any chances for themselves. We were creating chances after chances and both teams new there were only a few minutes left, and there were evidently going to be no goals in the 90 minutes, therefore both teams were preparing for a tiring extra half an hour worth of football!
And then, the cruelty of a game of football struck. We dominanted the game from start to finish, creating numerous amounts of chances, the team in control, always. 90+3 minutes
, Nottingham Forest get a corner. Drilled in to the penalty area, and of course, you know what's coming, a forest player gets her head on the end of it, hits the bottom left side of the back of the net. Heartbreaking. Our heads went down for a split second as any teams would, then we rushed the ball back to the centre spot and tried so hard to get that last second equalisers. The dreaded final whistle was blown, and that was it, it wasn't meant to be. Football can be a very cruel game.
Even though the game didnt end up in our favour, after a few days of being able understand we did all we could and it just wasn't our day. The day was a pleasure to be involved in and it was a fantastic opportunity for Radcliffe Olympic to showcase what our team is about, even though we were the underdogs, every single person who attended that game, and I would say even the Nottingham Forest players would say we deserved to win that day.
That's the way football goes sometimes, we have to dust ourselves off and prepare for the coming season and hopefully be back again next year to claim the title back.
Always keep your eyes open, and listen out for opportunities. Refereeing is full of exciting events, matches, and chances. You just need to reach out and grasp them - don't wait for them to come calling (cos they won't!!!)
This last week;
I played twice last week.
Woverhampton 0 - 2
Loughborough 3 - 1
To be honest I played really well against Wolverhampton. The whole team played well. I think that because we didn't have such a good game away to Wolverhampton, we were determined not to let ourselves down. Even though we lost, we were definately happier with our performance.
I wasn't feeling too well during the Loughborough game, I had an awful headache. I played through until around the 60th minute, but asked to come off. I knew I wasn't putting in the turns or sprinting as I should, and I wasn't going in for tackles or heading the ball. It's no use just keeping going when you are not well. You're not doing yourself any favours, and you're not helping your team. I literally went to bed as soon as I got home.
Leicester FC
I was fortunate to be given tickets to watch the Leicster v Watford game this last weekend. I've only been to Leicester once before and that was when I was around 12 years old, in a tournament with Neils Angels. It brought back those wonderful memories, and made me smile. Although that last time there definately wasn't the parking lot of vehicles by the font reception - I would love to park my VW Polo in the middle of them. I reckon it would look so cute.
I enjoyed the match, it was end to end with several chances for both sides. Leicester did start to take control of the match half way through the second half, and won with well worked goals. It was great being at a Premiership match, the size of the crowd, the noise and excitement, The crowds involvement is so much a part of the whole experience. The Leicester fans are so passionate, their commitment so intense, I could only imagine what it must have been like this time last year when they were literally knocking on the trophy door
Referee Diversity Day
Sunday I spent the day at St George's Park at a Referee Diversity event. I love St George's Park. The centre is in the most beautiful rolling countryside, with so many different footballing facilities; Football grass, astro and inside, Futsal pitches, pitches for every type of match thinkable. The event was in the Hilton hotel which is within the grounds. It's the most wonderful hotel, so spacious, so comfortable, with incredible decor and memorabilia all around. The restaurant has panaramic windows allowing the wonderful views to greet you. The food is scrummy and the service is top-notch. The staff at the hotel seem to just love working there - Who wouldn't?
The event was well attended. We were split into round tables of around 8 people, and had discussion topics. The topics were interesting, they were subjects that were current and relevant, and when we had finished discussing we had to present to the rest of the attendee's and open discussion to the floor. The event speakers were very professional and brought with them an incredible amout of experience. They were inspirational and gave you even more confidence to be able to get to the top - no matter what. I particlarly loved Stephen Child's presentation. Stephen has been deaf since he was born, his presentaton skills are great, his presentation was interesting, inspirational and funny. He has never let his deafness stop him progressing. But hat's ff to the PGMOL who also ensure that he has the best aids to ensure that he is equipped to do the job.
Over a lovely lunch I also had the chance to Network. A couple of people from the RA and PGMOL were there who I had met at the film premier last month. It was good to keep conversation with them. I also met with the new lead of womens referee which was great.
The week has been educational, it has been great for my knowledge and for building relationships.
It was the final of the Premier League Under 16's Open School Cup Final last week. Hosted at the Manchester City Complex.
If you haven't been to the Man City complex, you should - It's impressive. The facilities are incredible with the main stadium being only one part of it. There are smaller stadiums around the complex for events such as this final. This on top of the Ladies team stadium and retail outlets, it's always very busy.
Well this final had an emotional connection to my family. The final was between Ravens Wood School (Kent) and Reddish Vale High School (Stockport). The connection - My Mum's old school - Reddish Vale. Not only that but my Mum's PE Teacher, is still the Team Manager - Mr Andrew Moores - or Moose as he is called. Bearing in mind that my Mum is now 52, it was anounced at the match that this would be Moose's last match, as he is retiring this year. How apt that he is going out on such a high.
Well again, I couldnt get away from work to get to the match, but Mum and Grandad did and there were already around 100 people there. The match was being filmed and shown live on ESFA TV, which was fantastic - expecially for those fans that hadn't been able to travel. Mum managed to have a chat with some of the staff and also got contact details for me to get onto the Referee team for future matches, which was Mum doing her usual Networking.
Anyway the supporters excitement was loud, the teams came out to music and cheers. Parents looked on proud as punch. The match got under way. Initially Ravens Wood controlled the match. Around 10 minutes in there was a sudden tsunami of school children, The Valers had arrived, loud and on a mission - the coaches from Reddish Vale school had been delayed, but as always with the Valers they make themselves known - it was obviously really handy for Reddish Vale that it is only around 5 miles away from Manchester City's ground.
Whether this made the difference I don't know, but suddenly Reddish Vale's game went into overdrive. They scored, and never looked back, the skills of both side were commendable, with a couple of the players really standing out. The game was a great game and worthy of a final, and being televised.
Ravens Wood 0 Reddish Vale 1
It was an amazing finalle to Moose's Reddish Vale sports career. Reddish Vale has a history of producing great footballers, My Mum and Grandad enjoyed the match, it was as enjoyable (if not more so) than any professional match
As all my Footballing is part-time - I have to work (Boo!!!!). Work is pretty good, but unfortunately I couldn't get any time off this week. Events in football are happening all the time, and this week was no different.
Dilemma - How to get the most out of the event without attending???
Answer - Send your Mum !!!!!
RAISE YOUR GAME
Held at Arsenal, I now have a favourite parking spot about 500 metres away. I was about 10 minutes late, and went up the escalator to the conference suites. As I got to the top I was met with a lovely hug from Troy Townsend. We had a quick chat and he then walked me through to the main conference room, where the opening address was happening. Around 400 people must have been in the room, all eagerly listening to the presenters, but excited for their upcoming 'one to one's'. I immediately saw around 5 people to do the hello nod to, and sign that I would catch up with them later.
The morning session then started;
Mentors sat at their desks, number 1 to 91. So many wonderful people from various roles within the football industry, each giving up their valuable time to help those trying to get in to the industry. Each mentor sat wondering what the day was going to bring, and how they were going to be able to assist.
Mentee's eagerly wondered around the desks with their personal folders in their hands, checking their own personal itinerary, checking the name and time of their appointment, and then locating the relevant desk number. The day is such that if there is no mentee at the desk, it becomes open game, three-second rule.
You can tell the mentee's who have been to 'Raise your Game' before. They have the whole day sewn up. They have gone through their itinerary a couple of days before, and studied the other Mentors at the event. They then scan for who's around and swoop in at desks as soon as they are vacated. It's a skill, that is so useful on the day.
There are great informative workshops held throughout the day, presented by personnel at the top of their game. The presentations are absolutely tailored to the event, and what's more, the presenters stay around afterwards to give their time to people wanting to know more.
I spoke with personnel from the Media, FA and Refereeing. Some people I had met before and others were now new contacts for Honor. I had extremely relevant conversations with all of them, and reported back to Honor - and gave her some admin to do when I got back home.
RYG as Honor has said before, is a fantastic day, and something that Troy and his team should be proud of. This could be seen by the number of Mentors at the event who have in years gone by attended RYG as a Mentee. It is actually a fantastic Alumni to be part of.
I was asked if I would help at a Muslim Community Event.
My Mum was involved with a Muslim Community event this week. The event was for Muslim Girls from 13 to 18 years old and involved a variety of activities. As part of the physical activities my Mum was asked if I would go and run a football session with them.
They did some jogging and circuit training the night before, and they were very tired, so I adjusted my session accordingly. The girls hadn't played football before, so again I needed to do some exercises that were introducing them to;
Dribbling
Passing
Shooting
We were in the Gym hall so had cones laid out and plenty of space for footballs flying everywhere!!! The girls did well, but were lacking in confidence and very slow with their movements. I got them into two teams and gave them an exercise kicking the ball to someone, then running to take that persons place. They started to chatter a bit more, and put a bit more oomph into their passing!
We finished that particular part of the session learning how to do kick-ups which definately had balls shooting off in all directions. They loved doing this, and in fact a couple of the girls really got the hang of it very quickly, which they were chuffed about.
We then went into a 10 mins each way football match.
I admit that I was slightly worried that the game wouldn't be very fast, the passing wouldn't really work and the game would be quite boring ????????
HOW WRONG COULD I BE
The minute the whistle was blown - oh my goodness, these weren't the same girls;
The girls who were so tired at the gym the night before, were suddenly sprinting, twisting, turning non-stop
The Girls who were so shy and retiring, were suddenly going in for the tackle, and fearless
The quiet environment was suddenly so loud and vibrant with the girls either shouting for the ball, or shouting out instructions
The competitiveness was incredible, without exemption
AND - within minutes they had got the jist of shouting at the Referee!!!!!!
I had a great time, and I think that the girls did to. They were all so inspirational
And a couple of them would do well in a competitive football team
I was going to post about something else, but given yesterday's events, I decided to write about football - the beautiful game;
I guess it was going to happen at some point, it was just when and where????
It just shows how important football is, that the terrorists decided to attack a team to gain maximum media coverage. They tried it in Paris, and have tried it again to the Borrusia Dortmund team coach.
Football is a beautiful game, and as I have said before; it has worldwide coverage, and needs no language. It provides enjoyment across the globe. Supporters may be passionate about their team and their country. But most of all they are passionate about the game. Football doesn't take kindly to someone trying to spoil the game.
Music and Sport are precious to everyone, they take a person away from the day to day, They take a person to a wonderful place, an amazing memory, friendship, teamwork and understanding.
The resilience shines through though;
The people of Dortmund inviting Monaco supporters to stay at their houses for the night, Instead of creating terror, the town has now created new friendships, and grown the football family bond stronger #bedsforawayfans
The Dortmund team played tonight with strength and vigor. Competitve to the final whistle, and putting in a fine effort. They showed that football wasn't going to bow down.
The media coverage was of resilience rather then a damaged coach.
We need to look after each other, and look after our game. It's everyone's responsibility to keep an eye on everything around you. If you see something suspicious then don't turn a blind eye. The world is only on loan to us, and we need to be able to pass it on to the next generation in a good state.
As you know, I Referee for Nottingham Forest on a regular basis. Refereeing at an Acadamy is great. Everyone is learning, the Acadamy boys are learning, and they have to impress every week. As a Referee you are learning in a fast paced environment, where the matches are filmed and feedback both good and bad is given. The acadamy's are still particular, and if a Referee isn't up to scratch, they don't last very long. The Acadamies know that without good Referee's, their boys will miss out on an important part of their development.
As you promote internally within the Acadamy, you eventually get to Referee the under 18's. These footballers are briliant, they have power, skills, speed and ambition. I referee'd the under 16's two weeks ago, then last week got the call to Referee the under 18's. It was a great game. You rarely get any problems as the Lads are in such a strict environment, and are aware that if they do so'mething wrong their position in the squad is in trouble.
If you are a budding Referee I would definately recommend that you speak to your Co-ordinator to get yourself a place at your local professional clubs acadamy - Plus it's quite a buzz driving in through the Acadamy gates.
Radcliffe played away to Rotherham at the end of March. It was a great game and I loved playing more in the middle of the field. It was a really warm day, and I ran some distance over the match. The team were on a high, even to the point of us doing a fantastic car Karaoki on the way home.
Radcliffe played against Wolverhampton at the weekend. I've got to admit, it wasn't one of our better performances. The Wolverhampton home ground is an impressive stadium and it's lovely to play at such a facility, but we just didn't gell at all. Having said that we lost 2-3, but it was frustrating. My Grandad came to watch the match as well - so the critic was a very honest Mancunian one!!!!
I even managed to get a Man City Ladies European match in, at their home ground. It;s the first time that I've been inside the new
ladies stadium. It's very impressive, and right next door to the Acadamy. Must admit that the game was pretty boring, it was very set piece oriented, and needed some spark really. City women won comfortably.
Cup Match games are starting to come in. I did a semi final in the Men's Senior League, running the line to my good friend Charlie. I've known Charlie for around 8 years, In fact he bought me my flags when I first passed my Referee exam. Charlie works with my Mum, and also has his own outdoor fitness company, so he expects the best from you. Havng said that, the match went to extra time, then penalties - We were shattered and even stopped for a sly MacDonalds on the way home (naughty)
Last night the Ref: Stories from the Weekend film aired on BT Sport. It was quite surreal. I have been interviewed on TV before, and even did the odd advert as a child but it is different when you are on the TV as a subject of the film. As only my Mum and Myself had already seen it, my Brother and Sister watched it for the first time, and friends were watching all over the place. Within minutes of the programme being on, my phone was a hot potato, with texts, facebook messages and people asking to follow my twitter / instagram etc. I really enjoyed being involved in the programme, and will hopefully be involved in others - If the programme also tells people what refereeing is about, then thats fantastic.
I love football and I love refereeing. The opportunities are amazing and the experience and learning is endless. It also keeps me busy!!!!
I was invited to attend the Premier of the BT Sport Film - Ref: Stories from the Weekend. We were invited to BT Tower in London last Monday evening. I was excited but nervous. I'm the youngest referee in the film, and I was so unsure as to whether I wanted to watch myself on the screen. When we got there we went through an airport style security to be then greeted by a waiter with drinks, who then took us to meet the other guests. It's the first time that we had all met, so we started chatting very quickly about our feelings.
Tom (Watts) came over to me with some media reporters. He introduced them and left me to answer questions. I was talking with different reporters for around 30 minutes, being asked about;
How I got in to Refereeing
How am I treated by footballers
What are my aspirations
Did I play football
What do boyfriends think
etc etc
We were then asked to go into the Cinema to be seated. Me and Mum sat at the back in very comfy seating, nervously giggling. Tom and Guy opened up procedings and thanked everyone for their involvement. And the show began;
I was really impressed, it's a great watch. If you are a football fan in any way, it will be a well spent hour. The film covers all aspects, the Referee's are varied;
Aged from 19 to 70
Across the UK
From new Referee's to Premiership Referee's
Females and Males
Covering a vareity of experiences with the game
It's even got the comedy factor
After the film we were all called to the front to have a question and answer session with the audience. No one knew what was going to be asked, but once we got going you couldn't stop us. It was fun to be so involved in the project.
We were then taken to the top of the BT Tower, to the function area; a circular revolving room with floor to ceiling windows - Incredible. As soon as we walked out of the lift, to be handed a glass of champagne, the view that greeted us was breath-taking. We were up there for aroud an hour talking with so many people from all walks of football refereeing.
It was a wonderful evening - I'm so blessed to have been involved,
I spent last week in the 'Three Vallee's' area of France. It's the most amazing ski area, consisting of - Yes you guessed it - Three Valley's;
600kms of skiing - I feel like I pretty much covered a massive percentage of this
169 ski lifts of various forms
A maximum ski altitude of 3230m - meaning your pretty much guarranteed snow whatever the weather.
51 Green runs
132 Blue runs
106 Red Runs
32 Black runs
Skydiving
ziplines
Some amazing cafe's and bars
2 x small airfields
1 x helipad
It's certainly not a restful holiday. Up in time to hit the slopes at around 0930hrs, and just go where the mood takes you. Three Vallee's is great because it's so vast that you really don't come across queues for lifts at all, you can pretty much have an idea on the map as to where you want to go, and just see what happens.
Luckily we have friends over in the Vallee's, we stayed at one friends apartment, who happens to be one of the 'Chief Instructors' on the slopes, but we met up everyday with my Mum's best friend and her family who are out there quite often. As my Mum and Sister (Bro was on a course and coudn't come out with us), are more your relaxed skiers - Queens of the Blue slope!!!, I was really grateful that the Black Slope brigade were there.
Every year I improve that bit more, and take on those scarier slopes - and it feels amazing. I first went skiing when I was around 9 years old, and in a million years I wouldn't have thought that I would be having a go at a jump, or whizzing down a black slope, complete with moguls. It's incredible.
To top it all, it was also 20 degrees, Hot Stuff. So when you finish flattening them slopes, you can strip down to your strappy top and sunbathe. It always looks weird when you are walking away from the slopes with ski kit on, but you;re walking past people in shorts and t-shirt.
What else to do - Well it would be pure rude to not go to 'La Folie Douce' for their afternoon party. The most amazing setting for a live concert with paragliders who always pay a visit whilst the show is in full fling. And if you have money to burn you can order you're £5000 bottles of champagne, which will be sent across to you in a sky pully to a celebration of fireworks - Amazing afternoon.
For a relaxing breakfast visit 'Le Panoramic' for the most amazing view, and wonderful setting. A great start to the day.
There are so many different activities for every age group, with many ski fun parks for Children dotted all around. Off-Piste there are leisure centres, tenpin bowling, ice skating, and if you time it right you can go and watch a hockey match.
I can't wait to go back already. Although next year I'm going out with family one week and my mates another week.
Oh - Of course there is football. This is the 5 a-side football pitch near our accommodation. Probably one of the best located pitches ever, although Mum said she wasn't going after the ball if we kicked it out!!!!
The Women who wanted to play football, and were not going to let the Old Gentlemen of the FA stop them - Tough Women, with willpower and an overhelming ambition to succeed.
Great day spent in Manchester last Tuesday. The Football museum hosted an event for 'Women in Football', on of all days 'International Womens Day'. Again Shelley Alexander was the force behind the event, and had chosen an amazing venue yet again;
The football museum is a must for anyone who has an interest or love for football. It is located in the centre of Manchester, a short walk from Victoria Station and The Arndale Centre. I have visited before - Advantage of my Nana and Grandad living about 5 miles away. Anyway - It'sgreat. It has floors of fantastic exhibits, and covers all aspects. From the very begining of the game through to the modern game, and everything in between. From Football Kits, to WAGS designer dresses. Some old fashioned funfair games, to modern day skills booths. They have now introduced a great little cafe, where you can have a latte and wander around the signed shirts.
Well, back to the event. - Fantastic inspirational women;
Patricia Gregory amazingly campaigned for women to be allowed to play football - after they had been banned by the FA in 1921. She wrote to a local newspaper and was inundated with leters from Women wanting to join her team - which by the way, she didn't have - Answer = Create a team !!!
Kerry Davis - In the 60's she was one of the most prolific goal scorers
Carol Thomas - Previously Englands longest serving captain
Liz Deighan - Footballer and Coach for England - back in the day!!
Rachel Brown-Finnis - Recently retired Goalkeeper for England
Did you know that there were around 150 womens teams by 1920. The game was flourishing, and especially during the First World War, when Women were working more and more, they also started to get more and more involved in sport. On Christmas Day 1917 there were 10,000 spectators watched a match between two ladies teams at Preston. By 1920, on Boxing Day, a crowd of 53,000 watched Dick Kerrs Ladies play St Helens Ladies at Goodison Park, and more people were outside, that hadn't managed to get a ticket.
The FA didn't like that - In December 1921 the FA made a statement - 'The game of football is quite unsuitable for Females, and ought not to be encouraged'. The Old Chaps at the FA had been outraged by the popularity of the Womens game. The Womens game effectively stopped there and then.
All these women are so passionate about the game, and they had to really stand up for their rights to play the game they loved.They didn't give up, and they worked and worked to progress the game and are still working tirelessley. And they were on the receiving end of many horrible comments or suggestions. We make think that we have a battle now, but goodness they battled so much to make things easier for us.
The presentations were great, amd the discussions interesting. The women all looked amazing, and makes me feel positive for hopefully ageing well !!!!
I was working on the 'Other Stage'. We hosted acts such as George Ezra, Liam Gallagher, Kaiser Chiefs and the most incredible RagnBone Man. The crowd was massive, you couldn't see the end, the atmosphere was electric. The celebrities were all around, and were up and down the celeb rabbit run which takes VIP's from the Pyramid to the Other stage. At one point I was keeping the crowd happy with my kick-ups, only to turn round and see Beckham watching me - Cool!!!
