History was made last weekend with an all-female grounds team at the Barclays WSL north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Thirteen grounds people from various industries came together as the first ever all-female grounds team to work a Barclays WSL fixture as they prepared the pitch at Emirates Stadium for the clash on Sunday 3 March.
The collective were brought together courtesy of a collaboration between the league, Women in Football, the Grounds Management Association [GMA] and Arsenal Football Club.
The group consisted of:
Alexia Doughty (Apprentice groundsperson at Stratford Sports Club)
Beth Gibbs (Groundsperson at Wellington School)
Bobbie Murphy (Apprentice groundsperson at Arsenal Football Club)
Carlie Lambert (Apprentice groundsperson for Worcestershire County Cricket Club)
Emily Geach (Volunteer groundsperson at Boconnoc Cricket Club and Tormarton Cricket Club)
Georgie Grimes (Groundsperson for the FA at St George’s Park)
Jasmine Nicholls (Groundsperson for Yorkshire County Cricket Club)
Liddy Ford (Groundsperson for the FA at St George’s Park)
Meg Lay (Groundsperson at Lord’s, Marylebone Cricket Club)
Phoebe Taylorson (Apprentice groundperson at Middlesbrough Football Club)
Rachel Hunter-Worrall (Groundperson at Queen Ethelburga’s School in York)
Zibby Parker (Part time groundsperson at Ipswich Town FC and Essex County Cricket Club)
And following the game – which resulted in a 1-0 win for the Gunners – the grounds team met with representatives from Women in Football, the GMA, and Barclays WSL and Barclays Women’s Championship CEO, Nikki Doucet.
