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FC United to highlight role of women in football

FC United is recognising and celebrating the role that women play in football with a special event on Saturday 7th April 2012 called ’A Woman’s Place is at the Match’.

The event, focusing on the club’s female fans, volunteers and staff by highlighting the roles they play, takes place at FC United’s home game against Buxton and will also offer free admission to women’s football groups via a special voucher.

’A Woman’s Place is at the Match’ is our club’s first event focussed on women and girls in football and the role played by females at FC United in particular.

The event includes a photo exhibition on the history of women’s football, a short video documentary about what FC United means to some of its female supporters, volunteer biographies showcasing the role of women in running FC United, a radio documentary and a special themed match-day programme. Popular singer-songwriter Claire Mooney will also be performing at the club’s pre-match music event Course You Can Malcolm.

FC United volunteer Lucy Pendlebury said: "Women’s football is the fastest growing sport in the UK, with more than a million women and girls playing the game regularly.

"One of the main reasons for this event is to highlight and celebrate the important role that women play in the game and especially at FC United. A high proportion of our volunteers are female, so it goes without saying that the club would not function as efficiently without them."

Another volunteer, FC United’s club welfare officer, Chris Boulderstone, said: "Women are involved in every aspect of our club. There are so many female volunteers at FC United that it is quite staggering. The club embraces us and there is no discrimination. We are an equal part of everything."

FC United club nutritionist Helen Walker said: "This is still a male-dominated sport, even though women’s football is on the rise, and there is a very traditional attitude in some places, particularly at some away grounds, but at FC United I have been very accepted.

"It is great to see so many women involved with FC and we are welcomed without any question. We have women involved at every level of this club - at the top, on the board, physios, programme sellers and turnstile operators, which shows our importance."

FC United manager Karl Marginson commented: "I would like to praise the club for the work surrounding today’s women at football event. We have women directly involved with the players with physiotherapy and nutrition and they do an excellent job and are accepted as part of the team, just as the male staff are. We wouldn’t even have a team without all those hundreds of volunteers and I want to pass my thanks on to them from us all."

The ’A Woman’s Place is at the Match’ event underlines FC United’s commitment to bringing communities back to the heart of football and the way the game is run. A special souvenir programme for the day includes interviews with several volunteers at the club and members of staff about what it means to be involved with FC United and their thoughts about being a woman in football.

"A Woman’s Place is at the Match"
Saturday 7 April 2012, 12 noon-3pm
Gigg Lane, Bury


View a promotional video for the day here.



First Posted ~ 18:01 Thu 5 Apr 2012
News ID ~ 4150
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021