Llysfaen Lionesses – Hear them roar

Back – Jodie, Gemma, Debbie, Ruth, Sarah, Siona. Front – Susanne, Tracy, Bethan, Catherine, Jenny

 

Who we are
As group of mums from the Llysfaen football club we were asked to get involved and play in a legendary first match in the Cwpan Y Bobl competition….. and it turned out we were playing against top of the Welsh league Llandudno Ladies First team! We have never been so terrified. But when you tell your own children every week to try their best and scoring is not the most important thing, then you have to pull up your big girl pants and get on with it. We lost count of how many goals went past us after the first 2 games and I’m pretty sure their own goal keeper went off for a cuppa half way through. Nevertheless, we persisted. It sparked something in us and we have continued to meet up and train every Tuesday from 6-7.15 at Llysfaen Football pitch. Most of us had never played football before, are all over 30 (OK more like 40) and probably have about 20 kids between us.

The point is, we love it and we know others will too.

Why support us?
We need support from other women in North Wales with funding and sponsorship investment to create a solid foundation and enable others to benefit. Already we have seen our numbers increase from 6 to 20 at training sessions and more are contacting us each week. These are above average numbers for women’s football.

What would it mean to sponsor Llysfaen Lionesses?
Resilience, community, humility, determination, empowerment. These are the positive goals that your brand would be associated with when you join our team.

We are encouraging serious fun.
It’s great exercise, it’s a chance to be competitive, it’s a challenge and an opportunity to be included in a team sport for the first time. And we are also taking this seriously. There are no other teams our age or current skill level to play against in North Wales. However, we are undeterred and we are forging strong links with the under 16’s and lower league ladies teams locally.

We have a manifesto.
Some wish for it, we work for it!

We are pioneers.
What we are doing is unprecedented in North Wales. We have supported ourselves financially so far but now we do need help to develop.

We are unique.
We would like to know where are all the other 5, 7 and 11 a side women’s amateur senior football teams are in North Wales? We are the first ones to take that step. There is huge potential for growth.

We are fitter.
The positive effects of load bearing exercise for bone health in the over 40’s women is well documented. The sprinting, mental agility, timing, aerobic fitness, flexibility and endurance that football training brings has increased member’s fitness levels significantly already – but we train at a level accessible to everyone.

We are social.
We are a team and socialise online as well as the on the pitch. The pressures surrounding new motherhood and the ill effects of social isolation on parents have been publicised widely during 2017. Finding a group of likeminded women to listen, play, support and encourage is a powerful feeling. Adding sport and fitness to the mix only strengthens the positive impact on all of our team-mates. This also builds increased engagement and loyalty to the club and team brand.

We are accessible.
We understand what it means to be a busy woman in 2017 and the lengths you need to go to find time for yourself. We are open to any woman who would like to try football for the first time or get back into football after retirement, illness or that 20 year gap since you left school! We ask only for a sense of humour and a commitment to coming to training regularly. We train at the same time as the under 9’s and under 11’s so mums can attend while also supporting their children.

We have a social conscience.
We decided early on to support local charities as a team entity. This benefits both the Llysfaen club, our team and the local organisations we are involved with. We are already taking part in the Dragon Boat team race for St.David’s hospice and are planning events linked to other charities and local schools.

We are impactful.
We take a proactive and targeted approach to communications. After only 3 months of activity we have already appeared in the mainstream sports sections as headline news in the major local papers. We have increased our social media presence to reach over 2300 people with individual posts, as well as increasing our page likes by 750% in just 4 weeks. By the 19th May we had increased our post engagements by 129% – and all of this was without financial input. This would be a very positive brand alignment opportunity for other local business. With the support of the associated social media channels of our team members alone, each posting has the potential to reach over 10,000 people in North Wales.

The Future
We will ultimately like to move towards being able to regularly field a full team and play ninety minute matches within a league system. We feel there is also potential for our football team model to be adapted and established in multiple grassroots clubs throughout the region. A senior league could be established and teams subsidised by providing women’s football fitness sessions on a subscription basis.  Scaling up the participation we have already had, there is significant potential for expansion of this model locally and in the UK.

What can you help us with?
We are seeking sponsorship to purchase kit and develop a team identity that will be a positive brand association for local businesses.

Sponsor logos will appear on team kit, on technical work out clothes worn by members during their own training, on the main Llysfaen club webpages, have central mentions and targeted posts on Lionesses social media channels and all media coverage. As a team we can also participate in publicised marketing activities for your business.

Sponsorship will be supplemented with grant applications, player contributions, fundraising activities and potentially fitness session payments for those who do not want to play in full matches.

Thank you for taking time to find out who we are and how we can help you.
You are more than welcome to join us for training! Every Tuesday from 6-7.15 in Llysfaen.

Our main contact to chat about the team or sponsorship is –
Siona Murray
siona.home@gmail.com
07709547691
Twitter – @mammy_down