Female participation continues to grow at Bo’ness Utd Community FC

They represent a terrific example of how female participation in the beautiful game has gone through the roof in this country, particularly in the wake of Scotland competing in last year’s Women’s World Cup in France.

“We welcome everyone through our doors” said newly appointed trustee Sarah Crawford-Wilkinson.

“And I’m speaking from experience as an English woman who’s relatively new to Bo’ness.”

Having initially enrolled her two sons in the club, Sarah was delighted to find that the club also offered the same great football training and experiences for girls, and swiftly signed up her eldest daughter too.

Her youngest daughter is a keen dancer but might be prepared to hang up her ballet shoes in favour of some football boots next season.

BUCFC’s chairman Peter Hay said: “Women’s football has come a long way. The number of women and girls playing football in Scotland has doubled over the last five years and, unsurprisingly, there was a huge surge in interest after the Women’s World Cup.”

BUCFC presently offers football training to girls from Bo’ness and the surrounding community from age six to 15, within the framework of its under 7/9/11/13/15 team structure.

The club is also assessing demand for an under-17 girls’ squad in order to provide a development pathway for its older girls.

As a grassroots club, BUCFC wants to provide equal opportunities for its girls at every level of the game, and benefits hugely from the ‘female-led’ partnerships it has with Glasgow City FC and Hearts Ladies FC.

The Lee Alexander Academy, founded by the Scotland goalkeeping legend also provides exclusive girls’ training sessions for BUCFC every Friday night.

“As well as receiving first class training from our SFA qualified coaches, these valuable partnerships provide additional touches of the ball and unique experiences for our girls,” Peter added.

During lockdown, the BUCFC girls have also received video messages of support and encouragement from former Hibs captain and now Scotland women’s manager Shelley Kerr, and also the Glasgow City women’s squad.

Ruby Grant, captain of the under-13s team and the 2019 Players’ Player of the Year Award winner, has benefited hugely from these partnerships.

She said: “BUCFC creates opportunity after opportunity for girls like me. There’s probably too many to mention but some of my highlights include training with Rangers elite girls every week and taking part in the Central Region advanced development programme.

“I’ve also been a ball attendant at a few Glasgow City women’s games and was invited to celebrate with them when they won the league cup, which was awesome.”

The club now boasts 61 female players, which is almost 25 per cent of its membership, and hopes to increase this number further with the introduction of Little Leos for three to five-year-olds, as well as the hotly anticipated U17 girls’ squad.

Peter Hay would also like to start a ladies’ recreational team if there’s sufficient demand within the local community.

Not content with gender balance at player level, the club also has 10 SFA-qualified female coaches, four women committee members and two female trustees.

Not forgetting to mention the countless female volunteers, mostly players’ mums, without whom the club couldn’t function.

Peter added: “It’s important to have female representation at every level within the club. Football used to be the domain of working-class men, but we need to welcome all walks of life and the unique perspectives and experiences they bring to the game.”

The club is incredibly grateful for the financial support received from many local sponsors,which helps to make the girls’ game possible. These include IMMS Security, Cam-Air, Newtown Post Office, White Feather Candles and True Blues RSC, forward- thinking businesses that work alongside BUCFC to encourage more girls into the sport.

Fourteen-year-old Brooke Paterson, captain of the under-15s team, joined BUCFC around four years ago.

During her short tenure she has captained the U13s and U11s teams and has been awarded the Players’ Player of the Year Award during all three of her captaincies.

Brooke credits BUCFC with keeping her active on the pitch, but also improving her confidence off the pitch.

Not long after she joined BUCFC she injured a tendon in her leg and it was touch-and-go whether she’d ever play again.

BUCFC gave her the support and encouragement to keep going, and after six months of using crutches and undergoing rigorous physiotherapy, she finally returned to the pitch.

Brooke has gone from strength to strength and was invited to try-out with Rangers just before lockdown.

Brooke cites Sam Kerr, Rangers’ new signing and Scotland international, as her inspiration.

She said: “I admire her work ethic and skill, and she is undoubtedly the driving force behind my decision to pursue a career in football.

“BUCFC has opened lots of doors for me and I’ve made some lifelong friends at the club.”

BUCFC has a number of home-grown superstars with six girls, including Ruby and Brooke, hand-picked by Rangers to take part in its elite girls’ training.

Evie Lapsley from the under-13 squad is also one of BUCFC’s rising stars and definitely one to watch out for in the future.

Evie won the 2019 Player of Year Award in both the boys and girls age group, and she has already been spotted by the big clubs.

But Evie’s a Bo’ness girl through and through and won’t be tempted away from her local team, proudly representing BUCFC at the Scottish Football Association’s (SFA) Central Region elite.

Paul McNeill, Head of Community Development for the SFA, is passionate about growing the women’s game and getting more girls involved from a young age.

He said: “I have been so impressed by the work that Bo’ness United Community Football Club has done in the local community to increase capacity and provide football for all.

“I know that the power of football will allow clubs like BUCFC to help so many people as we start to move forward and out of this crisis.”

Bo’ness United Community Football Club might be a grassroots community club but it’s taking concrete steps to empower girls and make football an accessible sport for everyone.

The club is currently looking for new players for its girls’ teams, so please email [email protected] for further information.