The Trust is delighted with today’s announcement by the club that the re-branded Swansea City AFC Women’s team will become a semi-professional outfit and will now be officially under the stewardship of the club. This is an exciting step forward and one we are thrilled that Andy Coleman has made a priority in his role as Chairman.
The women’s game continues an incredible ascent, with two million people attending the current Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and millions more watching around the world.
Swansea City AFC Women have a rich and successful history as multiple league and cup champions, as well as playing in the UEFA Champions League on six occasions in their 20-year history. We understand this move will create greater access and opportunities for the Women’s team to take advantage of the club’s facilities and resources and we hope to see them play at the Swansea.com stadium on more occasions in the years to come.
Yesterday, Dave Dalton (Trust Chair) and Adam Lewis (Associate Director) met with Andy to discuss this and understand more about the transition and his plans moving forward. It is clear from those discussions the passion that Andy has for this project, and his dedication to ensuring its success. We understand from Andy that there is a clear plan and ambition for the women’s team, with resources and support already put in place to sustain and build the team in the year ahead. We would also like to recognise the dedication and hard work of an army of volunteers who have helped get the team to where it is today.
We hope today’s announcement will serve as a catalyst for more young girls and women to take up football in some capacity – whether that is to keep fit, engage and socialise with others, or to forge a career in the game. Whatever the reason, we believe the future of the women’s game is bright.
Building the grassroots game
A critical step in establishing a sustainable pipeline of talent for the Swansea Women’s team will be the creation of true grassroots infrastructure for women and girls at a local level. The Trust has a history of supporting grassroots football in the city, with our annual sponsorship of both the Swansea Junior League and the Swansea Schools FA stretching over 10 years.
As we move forward, we will now be looking for new opportunities to help build grassroots football for women and girls across the city, with the hope of helping to establish a healthy pipeline of future Swansea City and Wales women’s players. The future Katy Hosford, Jessica Williams, or Chloe Chivers is out there, and we hope to be just a small part of their journey.
If you have any suggestions of where we can support, we’d love to hear from you. You can send us an email on info@swanstrust.co.uk or send us a direct message via one of our social media channels.
Follow the Swans Women this season.
You can show your support for the Swansea City AFC Women when they start their league campaign away at Wrexham on 17th September, before returning for the first home-game (to be played at Evans Bevans Playing Fields) on Sunday 24th September.
We would also encourage all members and supporters to follow their journey via their social media channels too: @SwansWomen
16th August 2023
