DID YOU KNOW?
Women's football is officially the fastest growing sport in the country, having seen unprecedented growth over the past decade.

There are now more than 4,000 girls' teams and 700 women's teams around the country, and this number is growing year on year.

Before the FA's 1921 ban on women's teams playing on affiliated grounds, women's football was a flourishing spectator sport. The ban was rescinded in 1970, but during the intervening 50 years boy's and men's teams took full advantage of various public and private sports provision.

However, things have begun to change……

In the UK, women's football now has more registered players than hockey and has recently overtaken netball to be the UK's most popular female sport, with 85,000 girls and women playing in affiliated league and cup competitions, in addition to the 2,500 secondary school teams playing in the national schools competition.

The last women's World Cup in 1999, the third held to date, attracted an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion in 70 countries.

The F.A. Cup, a Premier League and a League Cup; yes the women's game has got them all!! Not only that but with 4,000 teams around the country, there are literally hundreds of leagues around the country where you can play just for fun or at the highest level.

GET INVOLVED
Ellesmere Port Girls Football Club was established in 2002 and gives girls a first chance to play proper football – quite a change from park kick abouts with jumpers for goal posts! During the past 10 years women's football has grown enormously in the UK, with thriving national and local Women's leagues, but very much out of the public eye until the 1999 World Cup Finals in the USA.

Organisations like Sport England have also made Girls Football a clear priority area for development through their “active sports” programme.

Ellesmere Port have enjoyed considerable success for such a young club, winning the Cheshire girls football league at under 12 level and the Champions cup at under 14's

They have twice been runners up in the under 10's and 12's cup competitions, and the under 14's narrowly missed out on the league last season coming runners up.

This season we have established an under 16's team and have a view to expanding the club further with an open age team in the near future.

The club prides itself on being open and honest and welcomes parental help to keep the club going in the right direction.

It's a great time to get involved with the game – so find out for yourself.