Latest news with #TownWomen
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ipswich Town Women fans disappointed over sold-out final game
Supporters of a woman's football team on the verge of promotion have been left disappointed after demand for tickets for their final match has outweighed stadium Town Women take on Cheltenham Town Women on Sunday and are looking to clinch promotion to the Championship, the second tier of women's football, and all 2,150 tickets have been match is at the women's regular "home" ground at Felixstowe & Walton United, although they do sometimes play at Ipswich Town's Portman Road stadium, where their last match drew a crowd of more than 10, & Walton's director of operations, Chris Daynes, explained while Town had sold all their match tickets, some of his club's season ticket holders, who normally purchased or received complimentary Town Women tickets, had missed out. Some supporters expressed their disappointment over the ticket situation online and questioned why had the match not been moved from the Martello Ground in Felixstowe to Portman Road, given the men's Ipswich Town team was not playing next weekend and did not have a Premier League home fixture until 10 May against Brentford."No disrespect to Felixstowe & Walton, but with the magnitude of the fixture and the occasion, it should have been switched to Portman Road," one fan said on felt some fans had "jumped on the bandwagon" due to the likelihood of it being a promotion-winning match. Another fan on social media, a Felixstowe & Walton regular, said while "disappointing" the situation was "understandable"."I've used the perk of my [Felixstowe & Walton] season tickets to watch ITFC Women with my daughter for quite a few games this season and previous, but I get that paying customers come first," they explained."Shame we didn't get an option to secure tickets, but hey ho."But others argued fans had had "plenty of time" to request tickets. "The ladies have played at the Martello Ground for all but one game this season," another fan argued."The tickets were available for many days before selling out. "The faithful regular supporters have attended throughout the season and will have claimed their tickets."The girls will have an incredible atmosphere to conclude their great season and earn a very well-deserved promotion." Mr Daynes explained Town's games in Felixstowe were "always subject to capacity limits"."Supporters who purchase or receive complimentary season tickets for the Seasiders [Felixstowe & Walton] usually receive admission to ITFC Women home league games played at the Martello Ground as an added bonus, but this is always subject to capacity limits," he said."Ipswich Town have sold all 2,150 match tickets via their own ticketing website for next Sunday's match against Cheltenham Town and therefore stadium capacity has been reached before admission can be offered to F&WU season ticket holders." 'Hands are tied' Mr Daynes added that "comprehensive data" from recent seasons showed an average of 32 of Felixstowe & Walton United season ticket holders used their card to attend women's games out of 800 season cards in circulation. He said it "would not have been feasible to ask ITFC" to keep enough capacity to cover these ticket added he had personally organised a number of tickets, "prioritising and contacting many of the regulars who support the women's games" which were distributed during a previous match on Friday."Unfortunately, demand has far outstripped capacity and although I understand the disappointment some will feel, our hands are tied and there will be no admission without a valid match ticket," Mr Daynes Women have played two games at Portman Road, including this season when they took on Plymouth Argyle in front of a record-breaking crowd of 10,807 last month, and another match the previous season, when 10,173 watched them beat Chatham Town Town has been approached for comment. Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
21-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ipswich Town Women hope for record crowd on Portman Road return
Ipswich Town Women are relishing the "massive opportunity" of playing at Portman Road for a second time on Sunday, and they hope to set a new attendance year, 10,173 fans attended their league fixture with Chatham Town, a match they won 5-0."We hope as many come as possible," said goalkeeper Natalia Negri. "It is a big boost for us and the women's game in general."Town Women, who are chasing promotion from the FA Women's National League Southern Premier Division, take on Plymouth Argyle at 14:00 GMT. The occasion will be extra special for midfielder Kyra Robertson. The 22-year-old told BBC Look East that her family were all big Town supporters."They probably would not expect to see their younger sister playing on the pitch that they watch the men's team play on every week," she said."The club are fully behind us. It is so nice to have their support and I will really relish the opportunity to play here."Robertson said last season's fixture was the first time she had played at Portman Road."It was a great day. This town really supports the club as a whole," she said."It's not just the men's team or the glamorous fixtures that they play [in the Premier League] every week."Just before kick-off, when [Ipswich Town CEO] Mark Ashton broke the news in the changing room that we had hit 10,000, we couldn't believe it."Walking out, we could hear the crowd. It was amazing and to top it off with the 5-0 win, we were so happy." Town Women go into Sunday's match trailing league leaders Hashtag United by three points with five games to play after losing 1-0 to their Essex rivals three weeks if they needed to win all their remaining fixtures, goalkeeper Negri, 21, said the occasion would not get in the way of the important job they needed to do."We take each game as it comes," she said. "We must put in a good performance, and it will be a bonus if we get the three points at Portman Road."The goalkeeper was signed last summer, having helped Crystal Palace win the Championship, and she has not yet played at the stadium."I am really excited to be part of it this year, being able to showcase what I can do personally and what we can do as a team," she said."I have been involved in big games before. I am used to the pressure of having a crowd and lots of outside noise. I can't wait." Manager Joe Sheehan joined the club in 2019 and has guided the team to the third tier of women's football."Last year, we had an incredible attendance," he said."Seeing so many supporters [made it feel] like a typical men's matchday, but just on a slightly smaller scale."It was all about being trailblazers, to inspire the community and try to put on a performance to leave a lasting memory. It was a huge success."Sheehan said there were a number of bright players coming through the club's youth development pathway, which has been boosted by the rising prominence of the women's is also pleased to see attendances continue to grow at Felixstowe, where Town Women play their regular home games."There always seems to be new fans – boys, girls, parents, pets! The club has been moving on an upwards trajectory in recent years and I feel our growth has been boosted following last season's game [at Portman Road]." Leah Mitchell signed her first professional contract last July. The defender, who was named player of the month in February, took time out from preparations this week to spend time with the Women's under-14s and under-16s performance squads – a programme run by the Ipswich Town Foundation."It is always great to see the young girls play. I was one of them once," she said."Nowadays, there are so many professional female footballers for young girls to look up to. It is different from even a couple of years ago."The girls now have role models in the women's game, not just the men."Mitchell, 19, said the recent increased coverage of the women's game had inspired her."I loved it," she said. "I thought to myself it could be me, whereas before it was always the men I was watching."She added that she was pleased so many of the girls from the club's development squads would be watching on Sunday."We are not nervous – we are just so excited to play at this incredible stadium again. We can't wait to put on a show!" Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
