Bellway sponsorship puts Garforth Villa girls on track

Bellway Homes has ensured Garforth Villa girls under 13s will look the part when they go on tour to Barcelona at the end of the season by sponsoring their tour kits.

The 11-a-side team, which competes in the West Riding League, will be going on a post-season tour of Barcelona in May 2023. The five-day trip will include a series of friendlies against local girls’ teams in the Catalan capital plus a training session with La Liga side, Espanyol.

As well as sponsoring the tour kits, the Yorkshire division of national homebuilder has also donated money to towards travel and accommodation – setting the team well on the way to the £16k needed to fund the trip.

Jim Ballance, Garforth Villa’s girls coach, said: “The tour will be massive for the team and I’m sure will instil in them all a life-long love of football and a desire to continue developing within the game at time when it’s finally presenting the kind of opportunities for women that we’ve been demanding for years.”

“Four of the Lionesses who lifted the European Championship trophy at Wembley in July come from Yorkshire, and who knows, in years to come there might be Lionesses from Garforth Villa.”

Bellway’s divisional headquarters are located less than a mile away from Garforth Villa’s home ground at Glebelands off the Leeds suburb’s Ninelands Lane. The housebuilder currently has 11 active developments in Yorkshire with a further two due to open in early 2023.

Melanie Smith, sales director of Bellway Yorkshire, said: “We’re building homes and new communities across the region and as every parent knows, junior sport plays a huge role in communities everywhere. So, to have the opportunity to get involved with Garforth Villa and its girls’ team at a time when the focus is so firmly on developing grassroots football for girls is a huge honour for us.”

“I’m just devastated our sponsorship didn’t include getting me a seat on the plane!”