Civic reception for women football stars

The squad, who last season won promotion and turned professional, were praised by the Lord Mayor during an event in the Civic Centre.

The team was promoted to the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division and has aspiration to eventually break into the Women’s Super League.

At a gathering in the Silver Gallery, Cllr Veronica Dunn, said: “This is about celebrating the fact that women’s football is here in the city.

“It makes a huge difference to the way people feel, the fact that we have a successful men’s team and now a successful women’s team.

“It’s something that the city has wanted and needed for so long.”

Team manager, Becky Langley, said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be asked to come to the Civic Centre for a reception by the Lord Mayor

“It’s fantastic for her to congratulate us for our promotion last season. A real joy for myself, the staff, and the players.

“We recently had 2,000 girls and boys come and support the team at a training session. It shows the girls are fantastic role models and its great if you are a young girl or boy who look up to them.”

Head of Women’s Football at NUFC, Su Cumming said: “We’ve had such a good season. We won the league and then turning professional has been wonderful.

“A lot of our girls are aspiring to be footballers of the future internationally. We’ve got some really talented girls who play for us who want to be lionesses of the future which is great for the city too.”

As a commitment to the growing popularity of women’s football, the club announced the team would turn professional giving the players a competitive salary, better facilities, and access to treatment to prevent injuries.

Although women’s football is not yet as popular as men’s the sport is growing rapidly helped by TV coverage, advertising and international tournaments such as the on-going World Cup.