DRAGONS LOOKING TO GIRL POWER
BASINGSTOKE Town hope the formation of an under-18s team is the next step towards offering opportunities for women and girls of all ages to represent the club. The Dragons unveiled their newest squad this season with the assistance of a grant from the Trident Community Foundation (TCF), which previously helped secure kit for an under-11s girls’ team in 2021.
The club now run two junior women’s sides in addition to the senior team, who play in Division 1 of the Hampshire County Women’s Football League, and vice-chair and treasurer Liz Lockie has her sights set on many more.
“Our long-term objective is to start a girls’ team at every age level,” she said.
“We want to try and get pathways in place leading right through. “We run camps during the holidays and more girls are definitely getting involved, especially at those younger age groups.
“What we’d like to do is set up a Wildcats session on Saturday mornings to pick up those seven and eight-year-old girls who are interested in playing, as it is probably easier to start from the bottom rather than trying to recruit when they are older.”
In addition to helping the newly-formed youth squad, Town’s latest cash boost from the TCF, which has awarded almost £450,000 to clubs across Steps 3 and 4 since being formed by Southern League partners Pitching In three years ago, has helped grow the club’s provision for disabled footballers. A football festival is on the agenda next summer for the ever-evolving numbers taking part in the sessions, which have proved a hit from the outset. “We started off with one disability session and the response was really good, so we’ve set up another two,” Lockie added. “Those have been really successful and numbers are growing as there aren’t too many similar opportunities around.
“The grants are brilliant and make a huge difference. It means we don’t have to pass the full financial burden on to parents and it makes the quality of our initiatives better, as we are not scrimping and saving.”
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