A football group helping older women get into sport partakes in first tournament.

Turf Chicks, a football group for women over twenty-five’s, is starting to gather speed in the area. With nine women now regularly attending, it is a fully-fledged group to help older women play football, get active and, most importantly, do something fun for themselves.

Kirsty, the head of Turf Chicks, began this group a few months ago because she missed football, but “can’t keep up with the younger ones”. This led to the idea for a group of over twenty-five women to play football and get fitter. Many of the members are mums, and the group was created to give them time for themselves. However, it’s been a challenge to gather regular attenders, and Kirsty said, “part of that is the stigma around football not necessarily previously being regarded as a female sport”. The lack of accessibility for older women to take part in team sports is an important issue. People were often nervous to trial the group, because “a lot of people have been really apprehensive and worried about joining”. However, after joining, everyone seems to love it, and the group recently went to its first tournament, a football festival held by the Sussex FA where ladies’ groups enter and play ten-minute matches against other teams like them.

Kirsty wants to see more women getting into groups like Turf Chicks, as many never played football when they were younger because of the stigma around it at that time. But, “no one sport or exercise is for everybody”. Kirsty just wants to see women out there giving things a go.

One woman she’s converted is Zoe, the first woman to join the group, who was very glad she joined. She joined it because she “wanted to do something for myself”, and she said, “I absolutely love it, liking it doesn’t even come close”. However, before she joined, she was “very nervous” as to whether she would be able to play, but she is so glad she did play and is improving week on week. She said she hadn’t played for most of her life and that “it’s nice to get some time back for myself”. This is one of Kirsty’s key motives, and she seems to be succeeding in getting women into the sport.

The new Turf Chicks are still getting their wings, but they’re constantly growing and it’s a fun and enjoyable session that is accessible to all. And Kirsty hopes that many more come to join and have fun with them soon.