The LIONESSES’ historic Euro victory has brought fresh optimism to a local women’s football club.
England beat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship final on Sunday.
Many players, pundits, and sports personalities are hopeful it could inspire a huge wave of fan and player participation in women’s football.
This sentiment is echoed by the team at Malvern Town, who have enjoyed great success since launching in April 2021.
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Manager Mark Taylor has been overwhelmed with the support shown to the Lionesses this summer.
He said: “The tournament has been on everyone’s lips so far during pre-season, it’s allowed us to get together as a squad, as a club and more so than ever interact with members of the community that come along to support.
“We had a great turn out on Sunday for our game with Redditch United Women and many stayed on to watch the Euros final.
“The atmosphere was great at the club to see the Lionesses lift the Euro trophy and we, as much as every other football fan, were over the moon with the result and feeling positive about the impact on women’s football, not just at Malvern Town FC but the nation as a whole!”
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In their first season, Malvern went from strength to strength, finishing third in the Midwest Counties Female Football League with a squad made up of both experience players and those new to the game.
“Considering we were a brand-new team, our achievements were quite remarkable,” Taylor added.
At the moment, Malvern only has a senior side for women.
However, Taylor is certain they will be looking to change that in the future and is also looking at more ways to engage with fans.
He said: “This season we’ll certainly be advertising our games more widely now we’re established and continue to welcome families, girls and boys to come along and watch for free!
“The club don’t have a youth set up at present and it’s something that will be discussed moving forward, I’m sure.
“The club are associated to Mini Hillsiders (for years three and four) which train and play at the club and we have good relationships with local clubs whereby young players train and play at our fantastic facility so we’re very much on the map regardless.
“In the near future, we may look at an open age (16+) development team to support our first team and who knows what might be possible moving forward, certainly exciting times!”
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