Women's football team back on pitch after 16 years

Blyth Spartans Women will play their first competitive match in 16 years

A women's football team is to play its first competitive match in 16 years.

Blyth Spartans Women will return to Croft Park later, competing for the first time since 2009 following the club's takeover.

Local businessman Martin Trinder formed Blyth Spartans CIC and took charge of the Northumberland club in November, providing the opportunity to reform the women's side.

Head of women's football Linda Bush said she hoped the team's return would allow it to build a "strong pathway" for women and girls in the area and hopefully develop them into future Lionesses.

North-east England has a proud history of producing Lionesses, including Sunderland's Jill Scott, Durham's Steph Houghton and Lucy Bronze, from Berwick-upon-Tweed.

"Where are the North East women and girls coming into the England set-up? I think that's one of the things that we want to do at Blyth Spartans," Ms Bush said.

"We want to build a really strong pathway so that we can potentially have a Lioness of the future."

The team will play at Croft Park on Sunday

The women's manager said despite the team's former success, she believed it folded 16 years ago because of how expensive it was for the players, with them having to pay for their own travel across the country while juggling school and work.

"It just became too much of a burden for the players themselves," Ms Bush said.

But when the takeover of the men's side happened, it created room to establish the women's side once again.

"How can you have a football club that's calling itself a community interest company and only have a men's football team? So it was very, very quickly put on the agenda."

Ms Bush said that while developing the women's side would not immediately make money for the club, it would provide a "service for women and girls" by giving them the opportunity to play in Blyth's green and white.

'Huge honour'

But sacrifices will still have to be made for the new players while the club establishes itself and hopefully works its way up from Northumberland Football League Women's Division Two.

The captain of the team on Sunday also works full-time as a police officer and is taking time in lieu in the middle of her shift in order to play, potentially having to go back to work afterwards.

"That's the reality of grassroots women's football," Ms Bush said.

"The women of Blyth Spartans who are coming to play on Sunday they're either all at college, all working and they're all paying subs to actually play in the green and white shirt.

"But they see it as a huge honour."

Blyth Spartans Women play Alnwick Town Reserves at Croft Park at 13:30 BST.