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In just three years, Caerphilly Dragons Girls FC has grown to become one of the largest girls’ football clubs in Wales; boasting over 200 members across multiple age groups.
Chairman James Law, told Caerphilly Observer how what started as a kick-around in the park with his daughter, turned into a project that has quickly caught the attention of the Football Association of Wales (FAW).
James said: “Me and my friend, Gwyn Roberts, were both playing football with our daughters one day back in 2019 and had the idea of creating a football club.
“We had 58 girls playing for us before the pandemic hit. Since then however things have gone crazy. It has been amazing.”
After the club managed to sell 150 tickets to Wales’ Women’s upcoming World Cup Qualifier against Slovenia in September, the FAW sent two special guests in the shape of Welsh defender Ffion Morgan and goalkeeper Olivia Clarke to visit the girls.
Uunder-10s coach and parent, Vanessa Maidment, said: “It was inspiring. To see the girls that excited was great. Girls’ football is in a great place at the moment.”
James added: “The girls were stunned. Ffion and Olivia were amazing, they took photos and signed autographs with all the girls; everyone loved it.”
James continued: “My phone has been non-stop this week. We have sponsors who only just signed with us telling me they want to renew – it’s great for the growth of the game.”
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Caerphilly Dragons offer football from the age of five through to 14 currently, but with so many getting involved, James is keen to keep expanding.
“With the buzz after England’s success at the euros, combined with the general growth of the game, there’s never been a better time to get involved with girls’ football”, James said.
He continued: “As of September, I plan on starting an U3s, 4s and 5s. That’ll be one of if not youngest age group bracket in the whole of Wales.”
It hasn’t all been straightforward for the club however. James spoke about how finding a suitable pitch for the 200 or so players has been difficult.
“We were at the point where we played on five different pitches across Caerphilly on any given week. St Martins School has been great to us however and we’ve been using their facilities for a while now.”
Asked about what makes Caerphilly Dragons so attractive for budding young players, James and Vanessa both said how fun and enjoyment are at the forefront.
“Our motto here is ‘Fun, Friendship, and Fair play’. It gets competitive at U14s but even then our focus is getting more girls’ involved in the sport”, James concluded.
To sign up, you can visit Caerphilly Dragons website here.
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