Nationally, the female game is on the rise; there are now 18 teams in 2 divisions of the Women’s Super League (tier 1) and a further 96 teams play in the FA Women’s Premier League.

The FAWPL is made up of a North and a South Division (tier 2) and the tier below is split into 4 Division 1 leagues, Northern, Midlands, South West and South East. These leagues are based on geography and Bedfordshire has 2 women’s teams playing in the South East Division1 league- Bedford Ladies and Luton Town Ladies. They play against the likes of Norwich and Crystal Palace and Luton Town Ladies are currently in a very strong position near the top of the league. Luton Town Ladies play their home fixtures on Sunday afternoons at Stockwood Park and Bedford Ladies play at Wootton Blue Cross. Why not go along and support these local teams who are playing exciting football at elite level?

In the local Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire County Girls and Women’s League, Sandy Ladies, Toddington Rovers and Flitwick Ladies sit in the first division with Sharnbrook Ladies topping the second division. In total, there are 18 Bedfordshire women’s teams playing open-age football and over 40 local girls’ teams affiliated across the county.

The game is growing across Bedfordshire and there is a lot of local talent. Gone are the days when girls solely had to join in with a boys’ team to participate. The standard of female football is continually improving and there is an FA pathway for talented players to excel and develop further.

The FA Girls’ England Talent Pathway allows female players opportunities to access appropriate levels of coaching and support throughout the talent pathway, enabling the programme to reach the FA’s ultimate goal; producing elite English female players to compete on the world stage. The structure in place aims to support in the identification, development and progression of players with the potential and aspiration to play for the England Women’s Senior team.

In Bedfordshire, we run an Advanced Coaching Centre (ACC) for talented girls from U10 through to U18 spanning 5 age groups. This is designed to complement grassroots club football and provide additional coaching and fixtures for the most talented young girls locally. We have had 11 girls from the ACC make the transition to the Regional Excellence Camps which are 2 progressions away from the England Youth teams. For further information, please get in touch with us here at Bedfordshire FA.

It’s not just about the gifted and talented players though, football is for everybody!

This week saw the start of Walking Football for women in Luton. If you’ve never played before and want to try it, or if you used to play but want to get back into the game, Walking Football might be for you. Maybe you want to see how hard it is for your children learning to play the game? Come along and give it a go! Find out more, contact Josh Spavins

If you have a daughter who wants to join a team, there are lots of clubs with girls’ teams who will welcome her, whatever her standard. It’s a fun, friendly way for girls to meet new friends, keep fit and learn to play the beautiful game. 

Female Football in Bedfordshire is changing and developing and we want you to be part of it. We want to create more girls’ teams and encourage clubs to get involved. Therefore if you would like to know more about how to find a team or even start a new team then please contact Marc Di Carlo. For further information about female player and coach development in Bedfordshire, please contact Katie Quinlan.

Women’s FA Cup Final

Last year, over 30,000 people flocked to see Chelsea beat Notts County in the final, played at Wembley for the first time ever. If you want to watch elite women’s football at this flagship event, tickets for the SSE FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on 14th May are available now. Tickets cost £15 for adults and are free for children age 16 or under and can be purchased online here