With two games left, an all-girls football team has an undefeated record so far this season and has finished top of a boys’ league.
SB Frankfort, an under-12 all-girls team from Plymouth, won the Devon Junior and Minor League with two matches left to play in what is thought to be the first instance of a girls’ team winning a boys’ league. The FA has been unable to confirm this, stating that this is impossible to verify due to the vast number of junior leagues throughout the country.
The team worked tirelessly during its title-winning season, winning 14 out of 17 matches. The other three games resulted in a draw and the team scored an impressive 75 goals in total, which equates to more than four goals per match. James Brown-Tunnell, SB Frankfort’s head coach, called the team’s title win “a fantastic achievement for the whole squad”.
The popularity of women’s football
The rise in popularity of women’s football will have undoubtedly inspired and encouraged the girls of SB Frankfort. Kelly Simmons, the Football Association’s director of women’s football, is leading the charge in women’s football and believes it can be the first female team sport to break through into the mainstream. The England v Holland semi-final match was watched by four million people, which was a record television audience for a women’s game; however, this figure will almost certainly be broken in the coming year as interest increases in women’s football.
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Teamwork and hard work
Brown-Tunnell emphasized the work the team has put in, stating: “This has been four years in the making and I couldn’t be happier.” There is no doubt that the team will have had to work hard to get to the top position and achieve their unbeaten record, and it certainly takes a great deal of time, effort, dedication and skill to be a football trainer. To win any league, a team needs to put in hours of match practice and training drills. Well-thought-out football training drills can help performance by sharpening the players’ skills and technique and improving their fitness, giving their team the winning edge.
The girls of SB Frankfort are not resting after their victory. They continue to aim high and Brown-Tunnel has stated that his ambition is to remain undefeated and move on to the league cup final.
