The history of Sawbridgeworth Town Women's Football Club

The origins of the club started back in 1986 when a ladies 5-a-side league was formed in Harlow by Helen Offord who was employed by Harlow Council as a sports development officer. At that time there were several teams formed from various areas so that a small league could be played each week at Nettswell School / College indoor sports hall. One of the original teams that was formed was Harlow Bears. Through progression as the league got bigger  so the playing strength of Harlow Bears grew and a sponsor was sought. A local Sportswear manufacturer came forward and the team changed its name to Zenith Sports and played under that name for two years winning many honours with both its first and reserve teams. Towards the end of the 1989 league a group of girls / women asked if it was possible to form an eleven -a-side team. After selection trials over a 6 week period a group of 22 players formed Harlow Town Ladies Football Club.

Since Harlow Town Ladies Football Club was formed for the 1989/90 season there have been many changes to the playing staff, but the management has remained the same. As the club progressed it had always been the aim of the club to go as far as it could within the boundaries of Ladies Football. Over the years Harlow Town had always been there or there about when it came to trophies as for the first 6 seasons they were involved in one or other of the League Cup competitions. Winning the League Cup in the 91/92 season and the The Lisa Slater Memorial Shield in the 93/94 season and the biggest prize to date winning the Essex County Cup in the 95/96 season. As with all ladies clubs it seems that it is inevitable that players move on and during the close season of 95/96 Harlow saw its fair share of movement out of the club of many good players for one reason or another. Luckily there had been a steady flow of players coming into the club but as with all situations like this, the players coming in were not always of the same ability of those departing and once again the club had to train and educate players so that they could fit in and play football along side the other club members.

During this period of time it had become evident that for ladies football to progress further there had to be an outside influence that supported the development and progress of the ladies game. Ladies clubs throughout the UK were now well aware that this progress can only happen if you are lucky enough to be associated with an established men’s club.

Although Harlow Town F.C. had shown great interest to continue the set up with the unaffiliated Ladies team of the same name they were not forthcoming with regard to a closer relationship. Bishop’s Stortford FC became aware of the situation and the then general manager of BSFC (John Radford ex Arsenal) approached the management of the ladies club and offered the chance to become the ladies section of BSFC, after discussions  the management of the ladies club felt that it would be in the best interests of the club as a whole that Harlow Town Ladies Football Club change its name and become as a whole Bishop’s Stortford Ladies Football Club.

The top local side had been Bishops Stortford F.C. for some time now and the men’s club has been instrumental in the chance for the ladies club  to participate as the women’s arm of the club for that season and beyond.

A major recruitment drive for players of all ages from 14 upwards had taken place to strengthen for the future and for this season there had been  9 new signings, some of them coming back to the club after spending a few seasons away with other clubs, and new players to the game of ladies football who are capable of progression into the first team after a short period of training was well within their capabilities. Even so, with the change of management at the top end of BSFC at the end of the 2000-2001 season it became apparent that the new management committee of Bishop’s Stortford FC did not look to feature the ladies within its core activities. Having played all their games for that season at Sawbridgeworth Town there was already a divide between the ladies and the men’s club.

At this time the then secretary of Sawbridgeworth Town FC Barry Mutimer approached the management of the ladies team and asked the question, “If as a club you are not happy with the set up at Bishop’s Stortford we (Sawbridgeworth Town FC) would be very happy to have you as the ladies section of our club” After discussions between Sawbridgeworth Town FC  and the ladies club a decision was made to accept the offer. At the start of the 2001-2002 season Sawbridgeworth Town Women’s Football Club was the new name of the club.

Since that time the ladies section has taken its time to settle and the past two seasons has seen many players leave as well as new players arrive. This has caused the ladies to be very unsettled and it has been shown in the results gained. At the end of the 2002-2003 season Sawbridgeworth Town Women’s Football Club was relegated to Division One West of the Eastern Region Women’s Football League and to date has gained points for the first time in many months. During the short time that the ladies have been associated with Sawbridgeworth Town FC there has been many moves made to integrate with the junior and senior sections of the club with the ladies and with these greater ties being formed between the men’s, women’s and junior sections of the club it has given a greater sense of being home for the first time since the ladies were formed.  For the start of the 2003-2004 season the ladies section can boast a playing strength of 19 players with some 70% living within a  8 mile radius of Sawbridgeworth and several other players that are training with the club with a view to playing when their ability improves. A flourishing junior girls section was formed during 2002 and although the first try at this faltered after 14 months it has now been resurrected and we now see a regular number of girls in the 5, 6, and 7 school year at each training night , it is hoped that these will be the future of the ladies section.

Season 2005-2006 will see Sawbridgeworth Town Women's Football Club emerge into a two team club as we float a reserve team into the Essex Women's League Division Three. Being made up of mainly younger players on their first step of ladies football playing alongside several more experienced players under the guidance of player manager Michelle Wood. Both squads will train together as we constantly look at the progression of players so that the first team squad is always playing with its best set of players. This will mean that there will now be competition for places across the board which can only mean a stronger outfit that can take the name of Sawbridgeworth Town into the higher levels of Women's Football. The end of the 05-06 season saw Sawbridgeworth Town Women's FC finish with a flurry. Reaching the ERWFL League Plate final for the se3cond year in a row  and narrowly being beaten on penalties was not what was expected. But the main claim to fame was the fact that the club had secured a runners up spot in the Division One West and as a result again narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier Division losing 1-0 in a play-off game against Brentwood Town.