Manchester Girls FC, who train in Salford, are seeking a main sponsor and hope some local businesses come forward to support them.
The team, who compete in an FA regulated league, are currently on winning form and are looking to claim the top spot already for the 2019/20 season.
However, club coach Scott Grimshaw says securing sponsorship for women’s football has been the biggest challenge yet.
He said: “We’re trying to give girls’ football in the Salford area a big push. I’ve been trying to bring in sponsorship but there’s not really been anyone that’s interested.
“It’s ridiculous the amount of money we have to spend out to keep up with the running of the club – the prices on the 3g pitches are between 80 or 90 quid for an hour. It’s difficult because we don’t want to charge a lot of money for the subs so we‘ve got to find the money somewhere.”
Women’s football has come a long way in recent years, but only one in five adults would call themselves a women’s football fan, a survey by Nielson Sports has found.
Out of the 29,252 adults surveyed, only 19% called themselves a supporter – still a 60% increase from two years ago.
While the Women’s World Cup has caused a surge in popularity, with increasing participation, professionalism and media attention from across the world, evidence suggests it is still fighting for stable footing.
Scott said: “There’s a lot more chance for men’s football to get sponsorship because it’s more of a male dominated arena. There’s a bigger crowd for it.”
A survey conducted by Manchester University found that it is harder for women to sustain a professional football career because of low pay, a lack of contractual support, and commitments away from the pitch.
The Team recently reached the final of the FA Girls Youth Club
Scott has been coaching officially for 5 years, and he’s made it his mission to get more women into the game.
He said: “I came into it because I have a 13 year old daughter who we wanted to expand her social life.
“I saw the joy in the girl’s faces. I saw the enjoyment that they actually had of going out there and having fun. And what an opportunity it would be to be introduce girls’ football in Salford and get more girls involved.”
The club is also looking to contact several schools in the area to offer training opportunities with the hope to attract more girls to the sport.
Anyone who would like to support the team wanting further details should contact the team here or visit their website
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