MANUFACTURER SUPPORTING GRASSROOTS WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Seventeen months ago, a new under-14 girls' football team was started in South Devon for girls' who were unhappy at their current clubs. Fast forward a season and a half, and Watcombe Wanderers have won promotion in their first season and now have two teams whose kits are proudly sponsored by Iseki UK and Ireland.

In September 2023, team manager Martin Campbell, a fully licenced coach, was approached to start the team, and during the recruitment process, he received a message from Iseki vehicle sales manager Phil Catley about his daughter, Maddie.

After starting the season late due to not having enough players, Maddie and the other girls quickly formed a formidable team, eventually finishing second on the last day of the season to claim promotion to Division Two.

With the football side of the team performing beyond expectations, Martin wanted to build the team's identity with new kits and hoodies before they started their second season. To do this, he sent a message to the parents, and Phil replied.

"They were playing like footballers, so we wanted them to look like footballers," Martin said. "It can seem like a small thing, but before I joined the ambulance service I was in the service industry for 25 years in sales. Every time you put on a new suit, you feel like someone; you feel like something, and that's what I wanted for the girls with their own kit.

"Like any grassroots club, we rely on volunteers and parents to drive the club, and when it came to kit sponsorship, we asked the parents, and Phil came forward and said I might be able to help.

"Like anything, people come forward with good intentions, but we all sat here thinking, 'Why is a big national company going to be interested in a little backstreet girls' football team on the outskirts of Newton Abbott.'

"But the response from Iseki was positive, and they sponsored two kits and hoodies for the girls, and I have to say they look outstanding. 

"We are currently placed second in the second division and are chasing promotion to the first division, which will be a massive achievement for a new team to go from third division to first division in two years.”

Alan Prickett, sales director of Iseki UK & Ireland, added, “Women’s football is enjoying massive growth these days, so to be able to support an up-and-coming grassroots team is something to be very proud of especially with the amount of work we do with the GMA’s Pitch Advisory Service in advising on the supply of machinery to local sports clubs."