Derbyshire girls' football team aim for Euros glory in Paris after community fundraising campaign
A junior girls’ football team from Staveley will be gunning for European glory in Paris next year after their fans throughout the community pitched in to support a fundraising campaign.
Staveley Miners Welfare FC under-11s will be lining up against teams from across the continent for the Europa Cup, held at the Parc des Princes stadium, home of Paris Saint-Germain, May 16-19, 2025.
It will be just the latest stop in a meteoric rise for the team. Now in their second year since forming, they went undefeated in their debut season to earn promotion to the White division of the Sheffield & Hallamshire Women & Girls League.
Manager Maryanne Newbold said: “My son’s been at the club for six years and my daughter, Olivia, joined with the under-seven boys. When she reached the under-tens we didn’t want to have to leave Staveley, so I set up our own girls’ team.”
At one time, Maryanne played for Staveley’s women, but previously the only junior option was for under-18s. Now there are also under-nines following in the new side’s footsteps.
Maryanne said: “The first season was very successful and a great confidence boost for the stat of their journey into the grassroots game. This season’s been a little different, winning some and losing some, but we’re finding out feet at this level.”
She added: “We entered the Europa Cup a couple of years back with my son’s team, and now we’ve created this little group of girls that I’m so proud of, we wanted to do something extra special for them too.
“It’s just a great opportunity to go abroad and understand that no matter where you come from, we all have the ability to play football together. It should be a great bonding experience.”
Silverware costs however and with no international billionaires to turn to, the club launched an appeal to raise the £1,500 tournament fee, with players’ families committed to covering travel and expenses, including a day out at Disneyland.
Those families turned expert fundraisers, tapping up connections all over Staveley and beyond for raffle prizes and smaller prize draws.
Ajay Gorman, whose daughter Isla-Mae joined the team this season, helped drive the campaign and said: “I’m loving being involved in the club. It’s fantastically well-run, and I just think sport brings children closer together. It teaches them a lot.
“Being with this group has brought Isla’s confidence on a lot more. She’s stepping out of her comfort zone and her confidence when playing is reflecting off the pitch as well.”
The enthusiasm has rubbed off on Staveley, with more than 40 local companies getting on board, from beauty therapists to boxing coaches and a Mobile Mini Ponies service, all the way up to the big leagues like McDonald’s, Greggs and Tesco. Some have even established lasting partnerships with the team.
Maryanne said: “We’re constantly fundraising to cover our costs. We’ve just had some new coats for the girls sponsored by SureCare, ST Plastering have sponsored the shirts and we’ve had some other training gear sponsored too.
“We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us so far. We couldn’t have done any of this without them.”
Anyone interested in playing for or supporting the club can find more details at smwjfc.co.uk.