Ladies

[lazarus]

From the Web site

 

Following the sad demise of Bedfont Town, we were approached by the Ladies’ Section of the Club, and following discussions, Ashford are delighted to announce that Bedfont Town Ladies have joined the Club and will be playing in the Greater London Women’s League next season as Ashford Town Ladies.

The Ladies’ home matches will be taking place at Short Lane next season, kicking off at 2.00 p.m. and they will be hoping to replicate the success that they enjoyed in season 2011-2012 when they won their division to earn promotion into Division One South of the League for next season. They also did the double by beating AFC Phoenix in the Final of the Russell Cup, thanks to a solitary goal scored by Lucy Easton.

Ladies General Secretary Stewart Cook will continue in the role for the 2012/13 season along with Dani Levy (Fixtures Secretary), Kate Davies (Treasurer), Karrin French-Wollen & Vicky Kobus (Social & Fundraising). Manager Kate Cook has also committed to next season where she is relishing the challenge of the GLWFL Division 1 South. A representative from the team/officers will also join the ATMFC main committee by invitation, to be decided shortly.

An Ashford spokesman said “We have been after a fully fledged ladies team for years and it would seem that we have now acquired a very successful one, whom we hope will become fully fledged members of the club for the forseeable future. It is incredible that, having been without a female team for so long, we will now have two next season, with a junior girls’ team also coming along under the managership of Tyrone Fernando. We welcome them all to the Club”

We shall be holding a “Welcome to the Ladies” Evening at the Club in due course but in the mean time there will be a photo shoot on Wednesday evening when some of the ladies will be present, along with other members representing various of Ashford’s teams, including the Under-11’s who were finalists on Sunday in the Wandgas Tournament, losing narrowly to Sutton United in the Final by three goals to two. Under the guidance of Conor Moody and Mitchell Fountain, the team was represented by Charlie Ancell, Oliver Wright, Jake Walsh, Oliver Hunter, Kane Moody, Owen Montgomery, Foster Mcvey and Jack Whitbread.

We hope that the 1^st Team will also be represented, along with members of the Under-18’s, to help demonstrate just how far Ashford have come since the days when we had just a single team playing down the road at Clockhouse Lane Rec. If there are any other of the junior teams who could arrange to send a player or two down for 7.00 on Wednesday evening, we will be delighted to see you.

Finally a reminder from our hard working Club Manager Phil Marshall, that you only have until Thursday to get your entries in for the Fantasy Euro competition. There are entry forms at the Club if you do not have one, so why not come down this week, maybe on Wednesday, and get yours in. The more that enter, the higher the winning pot!

[fatboyatmfc]

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DELIGHTED !

 

Welcome Ashford Town Ladies!!!!

[Keith B]

Another significant step in the progress of our Club, albeit through the misfortune of Bedfont Town. I have not seen Ladies' football for many years but the (now former) Bedfont Town Ladies teams enjoyed good and positive coverage in the Hounslow Chronicle in recent years.

 

If moving under the ATMFC banner means that the newspaper no longer provides coverage, let's hope that the Staines & Ashford News can do so, despite seemingly being fixated with Staines Town.

 

Next season will also see a real test for the RPS pitch(es) with ATMFC First Team, ATMFC Suburban League, ATMFC Ladies Team, and Staines Lammas First Team all playing home games at Short Lane. Let's hope for a mild winter.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Keith B

[Beano]

The wear and tear on the pitch was taken into account when the opportunity to integrate the ladies into the club came about. However, if this season is anything to go by, the Ladies will only play about a dozen home matches. It has to be said that our groundsman, Ben, has done and is doing a fantastic job and the procedures for postponing Ladies matches are less onerous than for the First Team.

 

For me, the benefits massively outweigh any negatives. We are an FA Charter Standard Community Club and in order to retain and build on that status, we needed to put in place a proper structure for female football. Having both an open-age team and an Under-11 side gives us a good start in respect of that goal. This is not just a team coming over to play on our ground - we will be doing everything we can so that the Ladies can grow and develop - hopefully in partnership with the Junior Section where possible - so that as a club, we can truly offer the whole community the opportunity to play.

 

It's all very exciting!