Guernsey FC form new women's side with English league aims

The club made the announcement last night at their 10th anniversary celebrations, which had been postponed from during the pandemic, with the ultimate aim to get Guernsey Football Club Women entered into the FA women’s pyramid.

In the meantime the club will be looking to secure regular fixtures in order to give the current squad, which lost three out of three games played last week in the Island Games, more game time to accelerate their development.

Anna Gauvain, who led the Guernsey side in the Games, is the new GFC Women head coach.

‘When I was playing, this kind of set-up would have been an absolute dream to have,’ she said.

‘We did have opportunities when I was playing but it was limited, so we are hoping this will give them a good programme to look forward to and experience.

‘We’re hoping that we can inspire some of the younger girls to continue their football dream, because there’s not really been anything up till now for the youngsters to look forward to.

‘The fixtures we have had in place have generally been very sparse, so having a regular programme and getting girls to come and watch the women play, and just putting ourselves out there, is a great step forward.’

Gauvain also referenced the impact Maya Le Tissier’s progression has made on girls’ football locally, as well as the success of the England Lionesses.

‘The way that the women’s game is going in the UK, especially with Maya breaking through and doing amazing things, we want to follow suit as well,’ she said.

‘It’s great not just to be part of a brand-new team, but also to come under the existing established structure and the professional set-up that there is already with Guernsey FC.

‘The girls were already aspiring towards that when we come down to watch the men’s game. They can see everybody is playing their part in making the club successful, so it’ll be a brilliant set-up to have for us.’

Scott Ferbrache and Katie Watson, both involved in the island set up, are joining GFC Women as assistant coaches.

‘I think what’s really nice now is that we’ve got female coaches coaching females,’ said Watson.

‘But what we need as well is a big base behind us too, so if any men or women, but particularly women, want to get involved with the match-day support or the admin side of it and be part of a little committee, then please get in touch because it’ll be fantastic to have women running women’s football too.’

The Tom Dodds story is often spoken about within GFC circles and Katie is hoping girls will now have the chance to make that same journey, from coming to watch and aspiring to take part, to eventually becoming some of the team’s most influential players.

In fact, she believes there is already quite a pent-up demand.

‘I don’t think there’s just going to be one,’ she said.

‘There’s a little pool of players that already support the girls at the Muratti and are learning their game, and they are desperate to be a part of it, so I think having this in place, we’re going to see quite a few of those stories coming through.’