It is incredible to think that we are already in March and that for many clubs the season is coming to a close. For Arsenal it figuratively came to a close when they dropped more points in an entertaining 1-1 draw versus Manchester United yesterday. For FC Deportivo Galicia and our dreams of promotion we must wait one more season. With only four more games left, promotion is mathematically impossible. For Gillingham promotion is still mathematically possible BUT relegation is a fear. Two wins in twelve (admittedly two in three) have realistically killed any chance of League One next season. That’s football.

Meanwhile our intrepid traveller and vlogger, Darren has been busy again and this week even took his assistant, Thunder. Let’s see what he has been up to recently. He says, “…vlogging at Nuneaton yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting another Darren A(cton), the joint manager of Nuneaton Town

What a top fella he was, and I had the bonus of being joined at the match by a slightly less top fella, Thunder (Robin Atkins), and Daniel, son of Thunder. (Ed’s note – Magni? I will get my coat!)

Was a great game, and also, a nice change to watch the footy, in the sunshine, and also, being able to ditch the orange coat….what was even nicer, was the people at the club…..and the food and drink they gave us at half time.

Feel free to click on the link and have a look at the vlog

Clare is still very occupied with the women’s game and send me her recent newsletter that I have promised to spotlight. If you are interested in the growth of the women’s sport, please register with her for regular and interesting updates.

She explains the inexplicable….

The start of the women’s UEFA Nations League has taken centre stage in the last couple of weeks and the opening matches provided plenty of excitement.

A mixed bag for the home nations but highlights included:

• 1-1 draw for Wales against the very strong and experienced Sweden. A really excellent result and a marker of Wales’ improvement and ambitions
• 3-2 win for Northern Ireland over Bosnia and Herzegovina with 2 late strikes by Simone Magill
• 1-0 win for Republic of Ireland over Turkiye.
• 1-0 win for England over current World and Nations League champions Spain, at Wembley. And more importantly, a really strong performance.

Here’s a quick run down of how the Nations League works.

There are 3 Leagues: A. B, and C. League A is the top 16 teams in UEFA, B the next 16, and C the rest of the developing teams. There are 53 teams in total.

Within Leagues A and B there are four groups of four teams. The top team from each group in League A plays off in a semi-final then final for the title. The bottom team in each League A group gets relegated to League B next time around. In return, the top team in each group of League B gets promoted into League A. The same is true at the bottom of League B and the top of League C. So it’s a proper league system but with a short knockout phase to determine the overall champion. It’s really quite elegant.

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‘Around The World in 95 Games’

Some of you will remember I recently spotlighted Rob Cavallini’s definitive history of Dorking Wanderers. Uploading that blog reminded me of another book he published recently. It is the remarkable tale of the Islington Corinthians. He kindly forwarded me a press release and confirms that the book is still available.

The amazing story of the Islington Corinthians 1937/38 World Tour

It is September 1936 and your team has just beaten the Chinese Olympic team at Highbury; a casual invitation is extended by your visitors to visit China. What would you do? If you were Rotarian Tom Smith of the Rotary Club of Islington you would start planning a record breaking trip which would cross countries, continents and war zones.

The Islington Corinthians started life as a mid-week team whose primary function was to raise money for local charities. Smith and his new club were successful on and off the field of play and raised over £600 for charity at a time when you could buy a four bedroom house in Islington for £400. Ultimately though, they were destined to become football ambassadors for Britain when they embarked on the game’s first ever world tour, just two years before the outbreak of World War Two.

Smith, set about selecting a team from the cream of amateur clubs in the south and Midlands, raiding Barnet, Kingstonian, Dulwich Hamlet, Leyton, Moor Green, Sutton United, Nunhead, Tufnell Park and Wimbledon. The team travelled through Europe playing in Holland and Switzerland before progressing south to Egypt and then enjoyed six weeks in India, where they were attacked by the British Army during a visit to the Khyber Pass. 

After New Year, the tour got even more exotic with visits to Burma, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippine Islands and Hong Kong, when the players were taken on an opium den raid by the Hong Kong Police. Tom Smith’s vision was fulfilled when the Islington Corinthians reached war-torn China, although it did not all go to plan when several members of the team were arrested for curfew violation by the occupying Japanese troops, who released them only when they realised the team was due to play in Tokyo several days later.

The tourists travelled on to Hawaii and then America, where they were entertained by an endless list of Hollywood movie stars such as David Niven, before travelling across Canada and then sailing for England.   

Tom Smith’s team had travelled 40,000 miles and played 95 games in eight months, losing just eight games en route. The Islington Corinthians had succeeded when popular expectation was that they would return to England within a month, at a time when the world was on the brink of war. It was a truly remarkable achievement which has largely been ignored and now, for the first time, has been told with the memoirs and quotes of Tom Smith and captain Pat Clark and the marvellous surviving photographic record of player, Eddie Martin .

Around The World in 95 Games is available from Rob Cavallini priced £14.99 (plus £3 postage).  Available at www.dognduck.net

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NONCONFORMIST F.C.

The First 25 Years of Dorking Wanderers

This is the story of Dorking Wanderers incredible rise from park football to the National League.

In 25 years, the club has achieved 12 promotions and risen from the depths of the Crawley & District League Division Three to the pinnacle of the non-league game. It is a feat no other club has ever achieved. The story was pieced together through first-hand accounts of founder/owner/manager Marc White combined with local newspaper accounts and not to mention the Bunch of Amateurs podcasts.

For the first time a full account of the club’s unique story has been put together and is complemented with numerous full colour pictures which brings the history to life.   The book contains all the known results since 1999 and virtually complete statistics from 2010, including appearances and league tables.

AVAILABLE TO SEND NOW

AVAILABLE AT www.dognduck.net

★Full Results 1999-2024

★Full Colour A4

★200+ pages

BUY NOWAT www.dognduck.net

Regular readers of the blog will remember Rob from his Clapham Rovers book….. here

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FC Farce – the funniest football book you’ll read this year

Released on 31st January by debut author Darryl Barkwill, FC Farce is a football comedy that perfectly captures the absurdity of lower league football.

When Graham reluctantly inherits his father’s beloved football club, he has no idea what madness lies ahead. FC Farce is a hilarious, ridiculous, chaotic whirlwind that captures just about everything that can go wrong at a football club into one crazy season.

With financial woes, outrageous disciplinary hearings, rogue mascots, and a local council leader hell-bent on destroying the club, Graham faces a huge challenge to avoid relegation and somehow steer the club to success.

This comedy of errors has already got readers laughing out loud — with one early reviewer saying they were ‘laughing nearly all the way through’ and another calling it ‘a madcap story that more than lived up to expectations.’

If you think following your own team is a struggle — you ain’t seen nothing yet!
FC Farce is out now on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

Grab a copy here

EDIT June 3 2025

The story was picked up by the Plymouth Herald and Darryl kindly name checked me. Thanks.

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Today was a GOOD day. No, Arsenal did not get relegated and are mathematically safe which is as sad as it is surprising but Gillingham are unbeaten in two!

Today’s good news was a trip to Hayes & Yeading Utd FC near Heathrow Airport. Like the majority of clubs outside the elite, it has had its good days and bad days. In Hayes & Yeading’s case, the good days have been VERY good and the bad days VERY bad. (See below for a very abridged history)

Today was not a match day but I had arranged to meet the charming and smiling Patsy who I had “found” on a FB forum where she said that the club was now opening a programme shop on match days and on demand. We agreed a time and there they were, a display of beauty. Hundreds of programmes all accurately sorted by A-Z. Obviously the reason for my visit was to continue to support O-M in his quest for one programme per club per season. Now Hayes might not seem an obvious choice but remember that over the years they have been up and down right up to Step One. We were able to find no less than 47 programmes for the project and after 90 minutes we parted with one whole percent of the project completed in one fell swoop. Normally at the programme fairs I don’t get the opportunity to sit down quietly and check hundreds of programmes one by one. There were (obviously!) no Finnish programmes and they had one sole Gillingham programme and not too many Palace ones so I have offered to donate a collection next time I pass. If you would like to support Patsy and the other volunteers, she would be delighted to accept any/all programmes or football books with all monies going to the club. Contact her through the club or via me. Thanks in advance. There won’t be too many club shops in England where you will find Finnish programmes!

As an absolute double bonus, I found a Portsmouth programme for the FIRST DAY of the FIRST SEASON of the project. If anybody has a Portsmouth game for the last season (2016-2017) that would be a lovely piece of symmetry! Anybody? (It was a 6-1 home victory versus Cheltenham Town in League if that nudges the memory! In 1967 Portsmouth were in Division 2. In 2016 it was League 2 ….. so two levels down.)

Talking about programme fairs…..

So, what about the club? Their official website says…

Hayes & Yeading United Football Club was created in May 2007 when the two clubs respective Chairmen, Derek Goodall and Phillip Spurden agreed that the only way either club could continue, long term, at the level they were playing would be to join forces as a single entity.

Hayes FC was founded in 1909 when Eileen Shackle, the teenage daughter of a wealthy land agent, encouraged the local youngsters to form a football team. The team was originally known as Botwell Mission, after the mission church that was built in memory of her grandfather, and that still stands today as part of the Hayes Library in Golden Crescent. Yeading FC was also founded with youth in mind beginning their existence in 1960 as Yeading Youth Club, started by brothers Ray and Carl Gritt.

By the time the two clubs were both in existence, Botwell Mission had changed its name to Hayes FC in 1929 where having progressed through the Great Western Suburban League and the Spartan League they were then accepted into the Athenian League. In their first season at this level they reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup. This was notable for the fact that the club had started at the 1st qualifying round stage, and had played all its nine matches away from home, travelling an estimated 1,500 miles to places as diverse as Wisbech, Trowbridge, Stalybridge (where Northern Nomads played), and York for a semi-final against Bishop Auckland. The final was lost to Wycombe Wanderers by one goal to nil. The Athenian League was won for the only time in season 1956-57 on goal average over Finchley and the semi-final of the Amateur Cup was reached, losing to Bishop Auckland before a crowd of 32,000 at St James Park, Newcastle.

While the sixties were pretty lean for Hayes FC, the newly formed Yeading FC were starting to get noticed at a junior level, having moved to Warren Park in 1965. As Uxbridge League Premier Division Runners up in 1967 Yeading moved into the newly formed West Middlesex Combination Premier Division and having notched a league and couple double that same season joined the South West Middlesex League. That first season (1968/69) Yeading won the West Drayton Charity Cup, and more prestigiously the Middlesex Junior Cup for the first time while also securing the Division One Title. Further promotion led to back-to-back South West Middlesex Premier Division titles and in 1970/71 Yeading also won both the Middlesex Junior and Intermediate Cups. During the 1970s they won the latter five times and the former twice.

In 1971/72 Hayes FC were elected to the Isthmian League while Yeading FC earned promotion to the Middlesex League seeing Championship success in their first season (1971/72), scoring a record 122 goals in the process. Season 1972/73 saw Yeading sweep all four trophies – League and Cup – in the Middlesex League while over at Church Road Hayes FC hit the headlines with an FA Cup first round defeat of Football League side Bristol Rovers before taking Reading to a second round replay.

The eighties saw Hayes FC maintain their Isthmian League status year on year without much danger of movement up or down while Yeading FC had started their climb upwards at no mean rate of knots. The Ding moved from the Middlesex League to the Spartan League going unbeaten through 1986/87 and earning promotion to the Isthmian League Division Two South in the process. The turn of the decade saw Yeading hit the national headlines when they became the first Middlesex side to lift the FA Vase, having drawn at Wembley, they travelled to Leeds’ Elland Road where they secured a 1-0 victory over Bridlington Town.

Season 1992/93 saw Yeading’s meteoric rise through the leagues reach the Isthmian Premier, the first time neighbours Hayes FC and Yeading FC were to become rivals. This rivalry was to last until 1996 when Hayes FC reached the pinnacle of non-league football by winning the Isthmian League championship by one goal in a nail-biting finale which also involved Enfield, Yeovil Town and Boreham Wood. The club maintained a presence at this level for six seasons, including finishing in 3rd place in 1998-9, before suffering relegation for the first time in 2002 at which time Yeading FC had dropped out of the Isthmian Premier so the renewal of rivalries would have to wait.

Hayes FC were to become one of the founder members of the Conference South League and were soon joined by neighbours Yeading FC, renewing the rivalry for a couple of seasons before the biggest sporting news the area had seen for many years…..

Hayes and Yeading United FC – Merged rivals.

After a season of consolidation, the newly merged side took many people by surprise in 2008/09 when a late season Conference South record equalling run of 10 consecutive victories saw a play-off place earned. Looking dead and buried at 4-0 down after 50 minutes of the semi-final first leg, only a dreamer would have predicted a place in the final. Dreams do come true though and two late first leg goals and a 4-0 extra time victory in the second leg at Eastleigh saw the final reached. A tight final ensued but Hampton & Richmond Borough were seen off by the odd goal in five and promotion was achieved to the pinnacle of non-league football, the Conference Premier. United more than held their own in the top flight for the first two seasons but with a much reduced budget and 5 years of ground sharing due to the late completion of the Club’s new stadium, United hit the relegation trap-door in April 2012 and again in April 2016 and April 2017 before beginning its life in a new Stadium in 2017/18, losing the promotion play-off semi-final to Cambridge City at season end before a switch to the Isthmian League for 2018/19 saw United romp to the title and promotion with a 16 point advantage at season end. This was followed by two seasons being cancelled part way through due to the Covid-19 pandemic before a completed 2021/22 season saw United finish as runners-up only to fall at the final hurdle with a play-off final defeat. The 2022/23 season saw the Middlesex Senior Cup won for the first time with United just missing out on the play-offs, finishing in 7th position.. This season they are doing well in the Isthmian League, South Central Division (step4, level 8) and play Moneyfields at home on Saturday. Sounds like a plan!

Famous players? Jimmy Bloomfield (Arsenal, Leicester) together with Messrs Cyrille Regis MBE and, of course, Les Ferdinand, a local boy “done good”

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“How very Spursy!” Yes, it’s a saying that often slips off our lips. I have to admit to having a soft spot for Spurs going back to the 1970s. Probably because of a certain Jimmy Greaves. I think their new stadium is the best in the UK and on the basis that “an enemy of my enemy” is a friend of mine, it’s obvious that I should keep an eye out for them. Additionally, I think Ange is a great manager and it’s sad to see them struggle. They were knocked out of the Carabao on Thursday and yesterday it was Aston Villa who dumped them out of the FA Cup. Obviously, Ange is in the firing line BUT let’s look at previous managers.
Jose M doing a great job in Turkey (although we know he is longing to return to the UK and manage Gillingham!), Conte is doing a sensational job in Italy and, of course, Nuno Espírito Santo is doing an equally sensational job at Nottingham Forest. Could it be that it is NOT the managers who have all struggled to various degrees at White Hart Lane that are at fault. They have all done well before AND after their short stays with Spurs. Should we not be looking at Daniel Levy? I could draw parallels with the shambles that is Gillingham but I am so appalled and upset by Saturday’s debacle at Barrow that I had best not. As always, your thoughts are welcome.

I was watching the highlights of Villa v Spurs and noted that one positive was that they at least played in their first choice shirt. Too many away teams change to a second, third or special edition kit when there is absolutely no need. Spurs were unmistakeably Spurs and Villa were unmistakeably Villa. Well done, guys!

As I was musing this, as if by magic, a Spurs shirt appeared in my timeline. Zuckerberg’s algos are frightening! I know the seller through FB and know he does great work for cancer charities so it would have been rude not to bid! Is this not a truly iconic shirt. Holsten (undrinkable pils) – a great sponsor.
You immediately think Lineker, Gazza, Mabbutt. Your mind wanders to the great Liverpool Candy shirt with Rush, Molby and Jones in front of Grobbelaar! Classic, iconic, emblematic – you choose the word.

If you want to own this piece of history Dave is Notleydave69. Click here to view Incidentally he has several dozen other Tottenham items on sale.



As a bit of fun, I will throw in a programme of the final to the winning bidder.

Let’s catch up with Darren, Christian and Pitchside tomorrow. I am still trying to calm down about Gillingham!

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Sadly Gillingham’s season goes from bad to worse. This Saturday it was the turn of Notts County to take all three points. Incredibly when we won at Meadow Lane in October, we were top of the table! Automatic promotion is now almost definitely out of the question, the play-offs look like a dream and relegation a distinct possibility! A season that started with such promise is turning into a living nightmare.
Fortunately, all was not lost as FC Deportivo Galicia got a last minute goal against a Bedstone team who had controlled much of the previous 90 minutes. Football, what’s not to love?

Yesterday was the bi-monthly programme fair which as usual was a very interesting and professional affair. Today the organiser, Barry Dixey mailed me, “Announcing a SOUTH LONDON Programme and Memorabilia Fair at TOOTING & MITCHAM FC on SUNDAY, 4th MAY 2025.

Please email me at barry@dixey.net if you are interested in having a stall at the fair. I announced this event at the West London Fair yesterday and several dealers have already expressed an interest in attending.

Tooting & Mitcham FC are running an exhibition in an adjacent part of the clubhouse and it has the potential of being an excellent day with lots of dealers attending covering all aspects of football memorabilia including programmes, tickets, badges, shirts, cards & stickers, shirts, books, autographs, photos and lots more.”

This is a great venue and will give Barry and his team room to expand. It’s in my diary. The next West London event is 6th April. Again if you want details of a stand, Barry will advise.

Talking about programmes, I am making huge progress with O-M on his major project to collect one programme per club per season going back to 1968! If you can help him fill the gaps he will be delighted to swap for Finnish programmes or maybe we can do a three-way as I have 20,000+ programmes I am slowly reducing. “Slowly reducing” is probably politicians’ speak as it really means and the number of duplicates is increasing exponentially!

Have a look at O-M’s project and shout out if you can help. A couple of clubs we are struggling with are Salford and Fleetwood so I was delighted to pick up a 1969 Fleetwood home programme at the fair yesterday….a real needle in the haystack so thanks to Steve Harding at FPC who had a very impressive display of big match programmes. Shout if you want his details.

Rude not to note that the QPR Fair is fast approaching (below). I fear my bank manager will not be happy – four fairs in four months!

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Every fan knows that Kettering Town were the first ever club in England to wear shirt sponsorship, that “The Doug” was in charge at the time and that the FA fined them. (What a far-sighted organisation they have always been. NOT! Think European football, the women’s game etc etc) Wikipedia says neutrally, “Dougan negotiated a four-figure shirt sponsorship with Kettering Tyres, which was the first such deal in England. After its use in the Southern League Premier Division match against Bath City on 24 January 1976 the FA demanded that the club remove the sponsor’s logo threatening a fine of £1000, and were not impressed when Dougan initially attempted to circumvent the FA’s demands by shortening the branding ‘Kettering Tyres’ to simply ‘Kettering T’. The logo was removed, though in June 1977 the FA decreed that a 2.5 square inch logo would be permitted in the future provided it was not “detrimental to the image of the game.” Fifty years later shirt sponsorship is an integral part of the game with even the most modest U7s proudly wearing the logo/name of their local fast food shop or local driving school. In fact on the 40th anniversary the club even brought out a commemorative issue. Nice marketing!

40th Anniversary Shirt

Darren – Ready for Action

Anyway, our intrepid traveller, Darren Ashley was at Kettering this week and tried something new. See if you enjoy his report as much as he did making it!

Here is his YouTube He reminds me that he is always looking for more non-league clubs to visit so if you want to get some excellent free spotlighting for your Step 3 to 6 club, do get in touch with him.

Photos: By unknown – https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67952556

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FOR THE LOVE OF DARLO

My Life and Fifty Years Supporting Darlington FC

By Paul Hodgson

For the Love of Darlo is the inspirational autobiography of multi-award-winning writer and Darlington FC devotee Paul Hodgson, who overcame severe disability to achieve his ambitions.

When Paul was seven months old, he was struck down by meningitis and left severely disabled. On being sent to boarding school in 1973, he had almost no speech, had to be propped up and could neither dress nor feed himself. But by the time he left, he could sit up unaided and talk, albeit with a stammer, and also feed himself. Paul praises the staff who helped him, but sadly, there were bad experiences with other staff members, which Paul reveals in the book.

Before he started at boarding school, Paul’s mum surprised him by taking him to see Darlington FC. It was a watershed moment. He became a fan for life.

As well as charting his 50 years as a Darlo fan, Paul’s story offers a unique insight into what it was like to grow up in a ‘special school’ in the unenlightened 1970s. It’s a tale of triumph over extreme adversity.

Read and find out about:

• Paul’s first Darlington match, which made him an instant fan
• How Paul and his friend Malcolm (not his real name) attempted to run away from the ‘special’ boarding school they were both in
• Paul’s reminiscences of playing in his first-ever football match when he played in goal for his school in his wheelchair! Not surprisingly, they were thrashed 26-0 by a local comprehensive-school team
• Paul’s difficult relationship with his father – told in vivid detail
• The support Paul received from his mother, whom he speaks very fondly of
• Paul’s time as a volunteer working for Darlington Supporters Club after leaving school – he shares his fond memories

Paul started his writing career in the 1990s and published his first book, Flipper’s Side, in 2000. He released his second, When Push Comes To Shove, charting the highs and lows of supporting Darlington FC over two seasons, in 2003. He wrote the feature script for Give Them Wings in 2015, an adaptation of Flipper’s Side that stars Toyah Willcox (as Paul’s mother), Coronation Street star Bill Fellows (as Paul’s dad), Daniel Watson (as Paul) and Jacob Anderton as Ian Carter, who appears throughout Paul’s last book, Give Them Wings, which was released in 2021.  In 2022, Paul released One Hundred of the Best, which details his 100 favourite Darlington games.

THE BOOK IS AVAILABLE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT PITCH PUBLISHING.

Hardcover: 224 pages     Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd (5 August 2024)

ISBN-10: ‎ 1801507449   ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1801507448   RRP: £18.99

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It’s always a pleasure to get updates from previous contributors especially with newsy emails.

Today Clare McEwen , the author of “She Can Kick It” kindly sent me her updates. She says,

“Books sales have been slow in January. Maybe I was hoping that somehow, magically, the world would find my book instantly. Unfortunately, I now have the self-published author’s next job, promoting the book. Social media is frustrating, finding accurate email addresses to send press releases to is frustrating. 

But podcasts are wonderful and I’m so grateful to those who have asked me to go on. This week I recorded an episode for the Daily Women’s Football Beyond the Pitch podcast which will probably be out some time next week. Catherine and I talked about the book and Manchester United. 

I’m also grateful to everyone who has bought my book so far – thank you. If you have 5 minutes, please could you write it a quick review on Amazon.”

Who is Clare? She reminds us, “Football fever led me, inevitably, to collecting football cards/stickers as a child. The most memorable for me, was the Football Superstars collection from Panini. Released in 1984, they included the best international footballers in the world: presented as full international teams plus  a selection of ‘All Stars’.  The cards were clear plastic/acetate with the players printed on. The packets also had a scratch card football game in them.  They were super cool and still give me chills now when I see them on eBay. I had a full collection but I’ve no idea where it went! Do you remember them? Let me know (claremcewen@gmail.com). 

P.S. The mobile version of the ZX Spectrum Football Manager is excellent.”

On more general terms about Women’s Football she says, “Canada’s first professional league, The Northern Super League (NSL) is due to start in Canada on the 16th April 2025. It’s Canada’s first professional women’s league. Up until now, Canadian players have had to find their league football outside the country, many in the U.S.

But in a few months time, AFC Toronto, Montreal Roses FC, Vancouver Rise FC, Calgary Wild FC, Halifax Tides FC, and Ottawa Rapids FC will make history as the first professional Canadian teams. 

Despite not having a professional league, being in the shadow of the U.S. women, and historically getting little support from their federation, Canada’s national team have been consistently successful in the Olympics. They won bronze medals in 2012 and 2016, followed by gold in Tokyo in 2020.

Canada’s first unofficial national team began in 1971. By 1976 there were so many girls wanting to play that an all-girls tournament was set up in Western Canada. Leagues and regional club championships formed and grew. 

In 1982, Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) officially recognised women’s football for the first time and in 1986 the first official national team began, But, the CSA had no interest in it and actually told their head coach that if they lost both of their first two games (against the U.S.) that the programme would be stopped. They lost the first game, but fought to win the second, saving their national team.”

Meanwhile Darren Ashley was out and about again. This week takes him to Beaconsfield which is one of my favourite grounds. It was his first visit and he was suitably impressed. You can see the game and his thoughts here

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