Cheltenham Town Ladies Football Club (CTLFC) are the leading ladies’ football team in Gloucestershire. Yet their captain, Jenn Brown-Wealls, says they are “nowhere on the scale of the men’s game”.
In the past five years the club has won the Gloucestershire FA Chartered Standard Club of the Year Award, had 2 promotions, 3 cup final appearances and seen player numbers increase by 300%.
Why is it then, that Cheltenham Town Mens FC gets an average of 2,500 supporters per game, yet this was a record turnout for the ladies.
Standing room only. Some of our record crowd at Petersfield Park today. Thank you for the support. pic.twitter.com/zjoiMA1YWb
— Cheltenham Town Ladies FC (@CTLadies) October 23, 2016
CTLFC, however, have seen interest in their club increase over the years as they’ve gained players and supporters.
Jean Brown-Wealls said: “Gradually over time it’s getting better but it’s baby steps…eventually the theory is that it will come closer together [to the mens’]. ”
For now, the main focus for the club is to encourage young girls to be interested in the sport.
Jacqueline Haines has played for Cheltenham Ladies for 7 years. She is in the development team for the club and through her job as a P.E teacher, she has seen the game advance over time: “I’ve seen the development of girls’ football just grow and grow”.
The Football Association says that there are three million active female football players in the UK, but they still want more to get involved. They encourage girls through coaching programmes and football-themed workouts.
They use role models like England captain Steph Houghton MBE, for girls to look up to. She is a digital ambassador for the Women’s Super League and has competed in the Olympics.
It is clear that women’s football is yet to have as much interest from the public as men’s. But players like those at CTLFC are hopeful for the future, reassured by the growing numbers of their club.
By way of introduction, I am Mark Schaefer, and I represent Nutritional Products International. We serve both international and domestic manufacturers who are seeking to gain more distribution within the United States. Your brand recently caught my attention, so I am contacting you today to discuss the possibility of expanding your national distribution reach.We provide expertise in all areas of distribution, and our offerings include the following: Turnkey/One-stop solution, Active accounts with major U.S. distributors and retailers, Our executive team held executive positions with Walmart and Amazon, Our proven sales force has public relations, branding, and marketing all under one roof, We focus on both new and existing product lines, Warehousing and logistics. Our company has a proven history of initiating accounts and placing orders with major distribution outlets. Our history allows us to have intimate and unique relationships with key buyers across the United States, thus giving your brand a fast track to market in a professional manner. Please contact me directly so that we can discuss your brand further. Kind Regards, Mark Schaefer, marks@nutricompany.com, VP of Business Development, Nutritional Products International, 101 Plaza Real S, Ste #224, Boca Raton, FL 33432, Office: 561-544-0719