SOUTHEND United ladies football team has secured vital sponsorship from a major homebuilder.

The £3,000 boost comes from Bellway Strategic Land, which identifies long-term development opportunities for the company. 

This is the second season that the housebuilder has sponsored the women’s team, which plays its home matches at Garon Park in Southend – and last season got through to the first round of the Women’s FA Cup for the first time ever.

Southend United Ladies’ chairman Dale Spiby said: “We rely on funding and support from companies like Bellway Strategic Land, to be able to continue at the high standard that we have at Southend United Ladies Football Team.

“We want to maintain and build on that funding to maintain the quality within the club each year.

"You can’t deliver the same success without the funds we are talking about.

"The programme exists with this funding. Without it, it disappears. It would be absolutely disastrous for our team to potentially fold due to funding.”

The money will be used to buy kit and equipment including footballs, cones, bibs and goals. It will also help with paying for pitches and referees.

The success of England’s Lionesses at the European Championships this year has sparked a lot of interest in the game among women and girls and it is a moment that Southend United Ladies want to make the most of.

Spiby said: “We want to use their success this summer to get people playing and that’s why we are so grateful for the continued support from Bellway Strategic Land.”

Ben Stacey, Bellway Strategic Land Director for the South, said: “We are very happy to sponsor Southend United Ladies for the second year in a row.

“The excellent work they do in the community does not go unnoticed and at Bellway we are also keen to give back to communities in the areas where we build our homes.

“And with the inspiring example of the England women’s squad at the European Championships this year still fresh in our memories, it feels as though this is a turning point in the women’s game.

“We are proud to be a part of it by sponsoring Southend United Ladies and hope to encourage many more women to play football.”

Southend United Ladies plays in the Premier Division of Essex County Women’s Football League.

READ MORE

>Blues boss Maher facing striker dilemma for York City clash