5th July 2018
Thursday 6 July 2017 is a memorable day in the history of girls and ladies football in Cheltenham.
It was on that evening at Jury’s Hotel that a new pathway for girls’ and ladies’ football in Gloucestershire was rubber stamped by the head of UK women’s football.
Baroness Sue Campbell gave the seal of approval to Cheltenham Town Ladies FC amalgamation with the Cheltenham Spa FC youth teams at a special ceremony.
The merger created a clear path for girls to play from under 10 through to senior level with the one club – Cheltenham Town Ladies FC with youth sides playing under the CTLFC Youth banner.
Cheltenham Town Ladies FC, the leading senior ladies club in the region, retained its already strong identity and was significantly enhanced with a youth section at U8, U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 level.
CTLFC Youth chairman Gary Goodhall said: ‘The merger has been fantastic for both the youth and senior set ups and will only continue to get stronger. Our younger players aspire to represent Cheltenham Town Ladies at senior level and this pathway gives them that clear opportunity. I would like to thank all our hard working youth coaches for their excellence in developing our young talent.”
Cheltenham Town LFC chairman Andy Liddle added: “With nigh on 150 youth and senior players, Cheltenham Town has established itself as the regional hotbed for women’s and girls’ football. We have had a number of former Youth players make their debuts with us, and thrive, and having seen the talent in our youth sides I can safely say that the future indeed looks rosy.”
