'Football is for girls too' - Wellington pub shows its support for girls grassroots teams and women's football
England's women changed the game for young football players across the country by winning the Euro's back in 2022 – but what impact has this had locally?
It's clear that The Lionesses recent victories, taking home the Euro's trophy in 2022 and reaching the FIFA Women's World Cup final this year, has created a seismic shift towards giving women's football the recognition and platform it deserves.
A recent Sport England survey found that girl's participation in football has improved dramatically in recent years, with 100,000 more girl's playing football since 2017.
A survey conducted by market research company YouGov also found that interest in women’s football has risen to 30 per cent (up from 19 per cent) among English women and to 38 per cent (up from 23 per cent) among English men.
And nowhere is this better evidenced than The Park pub in Wellington, which has become a central hub for local grassroots football teams and women's football fans.
The pub has a large following for the Women's Super League (WSL) and an even bigger following for The Lionesses. It also sponsors Lawley Lightmoor Galaxy FC.
Owner Gary Stelling said that since his step-daughter Kellie Cheshire started bringing her daughter's team to the pub, the local girls football scene has snowballed.
Many other local girls teams and parents have been coming back time-and-again for refreshments, chats about the girls tactics, performances and aftermaths.
Kellie Cheshire said: "I'm a die-hard football fan and really got into the England women's team. We said we needed to put the WSL league games on and since then we've seen the pub get busier and busier and busier.
"Apparently, we're the only pub in Telford to show all the WSL games live. Its just grown and it's really nice to see that its getting bigger. It's nice to see families sharing the ups and downs of the game.
"It's just lovely and now a lot of the girls football teams come all of the time to The Park to watch the games and it's just brilliant.
"Football is for girls too and it has got a big following. It's getting bigger and the England women's team has helped this massively, especially now with the media showing more women's games.
"It's nice to see that girls are being encouraged to get out there and Martha, my daughter, has been playing for a couple of years now and to see things progress even from then is just brilliant."
Kellie went on to say that the developing interest in women's football has also had a positive impact on footfall at The Park, which has been especially rewarding given the consequences of Covid on the hospitality industry.
"For the World Cup, The Park opened at 9am in the morning and even then the takings were massive and Gary couldn't believe how busy it was," Kellie added.
"I'm from a family of Manchester United supporters," Kellie added, "and as a youngster my dad would always take me to Old Trafford and now I have passed that on to my daughter.
"We have a map at home of every stadium the women have played at and it's great that I can share my passion for football with my daughter.
"I've never actually played football, but it wasn't for not wanting to, it was because I couldn't. It was frowned upon. I remember asking to join the boys team and it was a straight 'no'."
The Park owner Gary added: "The ladies World Cup created a wonderful atmosphere at a packed Park pub Wellington. It's a shame about the result, but they have done so much for the sport and we are a proud country," Gary said.
"It's lovely to see how many grassroots girls teams there now are in Telford and Shropshire.
"We have many regulars men and women coming into the establishment to watch the women's games which is just brilliant and shows just how far women's football has come.
"A huge thanks for everyone's continued support and we are looking forward to England women's next tournament – the UEFA Women's Nations League starting September."
