A Penistone girl’s football team who are hoping to travel to America next April in a “once in a lifetime opportunity” have passed the halfway mark in their fundraising journey.

Penistone Church’s under-16 women’s team have raised just over £11,000 of the £22,000 needed to get them to Orlando for a chance to play against top-level opposition teams, as well as finding out what American scholarship life is like.

The club have been hard at work over the last 12 months, taking part in various fundraising activities, including a 14-kilometre hike, raffles and shirt giveaways.

It has also been making sure the team understands the significance of the trip as the girls will be representing England and Penistone on an international stage.

Manager, Liam Harding, who has been supporting the team through their fundraising journey, explaining how “proud” he is of everything they have achieved.

Player, 14-year-old Izzy Lomas said: “It will feel surreal to know that you’re representing a large number of people in a big way.”

There is a real team effort from all the players, who are all pushing and doing as much as they can to get the trip funded.

Scarlet Corker, 14, said: “It doesn’t feel real to be honest, because it just started as an idea but it has really picked up since then.”

Liam is keen to keep up the momentum, to help the team raise the rest of the money.

“There is still however a long way to go,” he said. “It suddenly dawned on me that I’ve still got another £11,000 to raise, so while it’s brilliant, exciting and a milestone, there is still a lot to do.”

The manager is also aware how many teenage girls leave the sport and is keen to develop the team socially, morally, and mentally, as well as improving self-esteem and reducing depression & anxiety.

A report by Women in Sport revealed that over a million teenage girls who once considered themselves ‘sporty’ often disengage from sport following primary school.

The organisation feel this is due to “a fear of feeling judged by others (68%), lack of confidence (61%), pressures of schoolwork (47%) and not feeling safe outside (43%) were some of the reasons given for not wanting to participate for this group of girls”. 

Liam understands it takes a lot of motivation just to get out of bed for his players, so by giving his team an opportunity to play in a competition abroad will keep the players focussed.

Player, Izzy Lomas, feels the trip has “given us something to look forward to and play for”.

Members of the team have credited their coaches for their success so far. Ella Darrington, 14, said: “They are really persistent, which helps a lot, if it weren’t for them we’d be really sloppy.”

The team has also been putting on extra sessions to prepare the girls for the heat and quality of opposition they will face in America. Freya Wright, 15, has seen the coaching team becoming increasingly “passionate as they want what is best for us”.

Liam said: “We live it, we love it, you would be hard pushed to find more motivated coaches than what Church have got.”

While the amount of people watching women’s football, and the overall level of funding given to girls grassroots football clubs is increasing, according to Women in Sport: “The allocation of resources in sport is not fair, whether we talk about money, time, profile or technical expertise, men’s sport has the lion’s share”.

According to another player, Lacey Furniss, 15, the Penistone team are determined to “show that girls and women can do the same things as men and deserve the same opportunities”.

Liam is determined to get the team to be at the top of their game for next year and prove a point that his girls can compete at a high standard, and not waste “an opportunity that most players who operate at this level simply won’t get”.

The club has recently announced that their tour provider will be Starbridge Sports.

The organisation will give the Penistone U-16’s games against quality opposition teams, as well as samples of scholarship life which Liam feels is the main motivation for some of his players.

“With a couple years of hard work, many of our players could aspire to a scholarship overseas,” he said.

For the coaches and manager, this trip will be the culmination of years of hard work and will power, not just to raise the money, but to also keep the girls focused and playing the game, and emotions will certainly be running high when the team steps out onto the pitch.

Liam said: “I might be crying, there might be a tear in my eye.

“I will probably be nervous for the girls, but I’ll be overwhelmed, because although we have been actively fundraising and doing things two years, the actual idea came about almost three years ago.”

To support the team via their Crowdfunder click here

Featured photo credit – Mike Carnevale