Leeann Bekker, Treasurer of Coity Chiefs recognised that without the National Lottery, the club wouldn’t exist in the way it does today. She said: “When we came to the club, there was no equipment. We had people, but no footballs; we wouldn’t have survived without the National Lottery funding awarded by Sport Wales.
“Inequality still exists in football, so it was really important to us that the club could keep operating. The girls that come feel like they belong here, they can freely express themselves, develop their skills, build friendships and be themselves without the presence of gender related pressures or stereotypes.”
The young girls at Coity Chiefs have female role models everywhere they look around the club.
Their committee is made up of more women than men, and there are both female and male coaches working with all age groups too. For the participants, this type of representation is hugely important.
“It’s amazing for the girls to see that women can do all roles in football, from coaching to refereeing, and also administrative roles like mine – they have to be able to see it to believe it’s an option for them.” Leeann said.
“It gives the girls something to aspire to. Two of our older members were keen to start coaching, and have been able to get coaching training thanks to National Lottery funding.”
Since they’ve received the funding, the club has attracted even more players, and they are now giving over 130 girls in the area the opportunity to play football each week.
The improved coaching and equipment means that the girls can enjoy a better quality of play, too, and feel enthusiastic to keep coming back each week.
