Today (Friday 8th March) we celebrate International Women’s Day and celebrate how far we’ve come to inspire inclusion here at Hitchin Belles Football Club. 

 In June 2016 at the AGM, we had 3 Women involved in an active role at the club, we proposed 9 teams for the following season, and we had just over 100 registered players. Fast forward to the AGM in June 2020, we had 11 Women involved in active roles, 20 teams and 300 registered players. Today we have, 21 Women involved in an active role, 30 teams and just under 450 registered players. 

We’ve made huge and steady progress and that is testament to the incredible volunteers (past and present) we have who are extremely passionate about developing the club, but we still have a long way to go with females making up only 17% of the club volunteering workforce. 

 Here at Hitchin Belles FC, not only do we want to make sure more girls have access to playing football, but we also want more female role models and representation involved. Our ambition is for every team to have a female coach working with them. 

Hitchin Belles FC is the largest all-female football club in the County of Hertfordshire and 2nd largest nationally, and it is imperative we continue to and collectively forge a more inclusive world for women and girls. 

Football is a beautiful game that can help create bright futures for players, by keeping everyone fit, healthy and active.

But we understand that football has an impact on the environment. For starters, there are a lot of car journeys involved with getting 400+ girls to training sessions and matches every week!

As a responsible club, we want to do whatever we can to minimise our impact. So, starting this season, we are planting one tree for every player that registers with the club. We hope that as we grow as a club, our little forest will grow too.

We know this isn’t the answer to all the problems, but it’s where we have chosen to start our journey towards being a more sustainable football club.

We’ll be partnering with Ecologi for this important work. Through them, we are funding tree planting and reforestation projects around the globe. We have already planted 444 trees for the players registered in the 23-24 season.

Keep an eye out here for more eco updates in the future. Plus, you can check in on our trees here.

As we head into our 24th season, with our highest number of teams and players, we are really excited to announce a new support programme for female coaches.

Our aim is to have at least one female coach working with every single team by the end of 2028.

Football at Hitchin Belles is thriving, with over 400 players from age 5 to adults, making it our most successful year to date. We have over 80 qualified coaches/managers, but with only 12 of those being female, we feel now is a good time to offer more support for either developing their coaching or starting coaching for the first time. 

Female Coaches Programme 

This programme is designed to develop and support more females to become coaches across our teams, creating more role models for our players and diversifying our club.

This mentoring programme is for new and existing coaches, so whether you are looking to step over the sidelines for the first time, or are an existing coach looking for new opportunities, we are here for you!

For more information and to get started, fill in this form.

Interested? Just fill in this form

Due to the demand of the development sessions last season we are pleased to announce that we have expanded the age groups and have an additional hour available.

The Norwich City FC Regional Development Programme will be offering a new block of weekly training sessions exclusively for Hitchin Belles FC players to access. Following a fantastic initial block in the 21-22 Summer term, we are now excited to be offering this opportunity to additional age groups.

Each week will offer a different training topic, as part of the Norwich City FC Training syllabus. Being a part of our Hitchin Belles FC Development Centre will offer players the opportunity to receive additional coaching alongside your Hitchin Belles training, delivered by Norwich City FC RDP coaches. The centre is focused on creating a fun and welcoming environment for players to be a part of, whilst supporting player development and technical progression. The centre also offers players additional opportunities within the Norwich City FC Player Development Pathway – such as fixture opportunities and access to enrichment events. 

For more information on our partnership, head to the following article: https://www.canaries.co.uk/rdp/news/norwich-citys-regional-development-programme-links-up-with-hitchin-belles-fc

Can you help us?

Hitchin Belles FC is a non-profit community club and every penny we receive is invested back into the girls and women who play.

It costs roughly £3,000.00 to run a team each season. Despite these costs, we continue to have one of the lowest subscription fees for a grassroots football club. We now have 350+ players across 20 teams, and we really need help to raise funds and keep the game going.

Football for all is at the heart of our philosophy and we believe that everyone should be able to play irrespective of background or personal circumstances.

We have big plans for the next few years to continue to grow and provide opportunities for more girls and women to play and stay involved with sport.

We are seeking partners to help us provide some of the below:

• Schools football sessions
• Player coaching and refereeing courses
• Team kit sponsors
• Team equipment sponsors
• Club equipment sponsors
• Women’s team partner
• Coaches kit and training
• Development Squad sponsor
• Mini Belles Sponsor