Imagine Abi’s jubilation when they released the fixture dates and times for the upcoming Women’s Football Weekend and she discovered that they’d chosen to stagger all six fixtures across Saturday and Sunday.
The first Women’s Football Weekend was introduced just last year in November 2019, taking advantage of the international men’s break to make the most of showcasing the women’s game. It blew any top spectator numbers out the water last time round, with 38,262 fans turning out to watch the North London Derby alone, the first-ever WSL game played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, breaking the previous record of 31,213 that watched the Manchester derby at Etihad Stadium, in September of the same season. Whilst the Merseyside derby saw a turnout of 23,500 at Anfield. A record-breaking crowd number of 74,247 attended across all six matches.
Reading are sadly without any real derby opposition this year, geographically speaking Chelsea are the clubs nearest WSL rivals, as the Royals are set to face FA Cup runners up Everton. They put on an impressive display against Bristol City last time in a 6 goal thriller at the Madejski with the score ending 3-all and with a record attendance of 1,420. As we all know there’ll be no fans in the stadium for this one but you can catch the Reading game this Saturday at 16:30 on the BBC Red Button or The FA Player.
We might have no physical football here in our lower leagues but that doesn’t mean our clubs aren’t out here providing both help and entertainment during this lockdown period.
Maidenhead United Women – Magpies in the Community is a programme established by the club to connect with the locals of Maidenhead. They have a dedicated helpline set up, and it’s never more poignant than now during the pandemic. The programmes offers hub support for vunerable local residents, provided by trusted, safe resources. The community helpline is open from 9am-5pm, 7 days a week. As well as offering pick up services like supplies, medication and dog-walking and befriending. If you’re interested in finding out more about Magpies in the Community then email mark.nisbet@maidenheadunitedfc.org
Holyport Ladies are looking for sponsors for their gofundme page, as they seek to raise money for their under 10’s girls team. Their page explains, “We pride ourselves on giving every girl the chance to play football and do so at the smallest cost possible. We understand that in these times that many households can’t afford to continue with their hobbies due to the cost so we have made costs as little as possible so girls can still continue to pay without parents worrying how they will find the money to let their daughters continue playing the sport they love.” If you can, they’d no doubt appreciate a donation to the pot, however big or small. Follow their link here.
S4K FC Berks County Ladies are running their own ‘Fawkes Lockdown Championship’, the S4K Ladies have set up their own fitness challenge and a daily football quiz to keep their bodies and minds sharp whilst they can’t train together. You can follow their updates on their Twitter page.
Woodley United Ladies are on the hunt for more followers over on their Twitter page, can they get to 1000 before lockdown is over? Just 145 to go! Woodley are a huge community club so well worth the follow to keep up to date with them!
Meanwhile, here at Football in Berkshire, you can read our newest segment for women’s football, as we get in depth with the female footballers in the game. First up was Woodley United’s captain, Ellen Surtees.
Plus, we’re back with more virtual cup action as our Invitation Virtual Cup kicked off on Tuesday 10th November, straight knockout so it’s going to be ruthless and there’s plenty of our women’s teams featuring!
Barclay’s FA Women’s Super League
Saturday 14th November
- Manchester United vs Manchester City – 12:30 BT Sport
Aston Villa vs Birmingham City – 14:30 The FA Player
Everton vs Reading – 16:30 BBC Red Button & The FA Player - Bristol City vs Tottenham Hotspur – 18:30 The FA Player
Sunday 15th November
West Ham United vs Brighton & Hove Albion – 12:30 The FA Player
Arsenal vs Chelsea – 14:30 BT Sport
The FA Women’s Championship
Sunday 15th November
Blackburn Rovers vs Liverpool – 14:00 The FA Player
Charlton Athletic vs London City Lionesses – 14:00 The FA Player
Coventry United vs Leicester City – 14:00 The FA Player
London Bees vs Lewes – 14:00 The FA Player
Sheffield United vs Durham – 14:00 The FA Player
