- Select is sponsoring Reading FC Women's First Team and associated youth pathways
- Major rebuild for side once in Women's Super League
- Women's side now under care of Reading FC Community Trust
- Exclusive chat with Trust reveals future ambitions
(Pic credit: Neil Graham)
The Reading FC Community Trust has revealed new details about its rebuild of the Women’s First Team - with ambitions to fire the side up the football league pyramid.
The Reading FC Women’s First Team has had a tough year.
In June the side were forced to withdraw from the Women’s Championship for the 2024-25 season, with the Women’s First Team moving down to Tier 5 of the league structure.
The Women’s First Team - and its associated youth pathway - moved to the stewardship of the Reading FC Community Trust, which operates separately and independently from the club itself and which has its own governance and finances.
And while a new era brings new challenges, the Trust and team are meeting them head-on.
Select Car Leasing, Reading FC’s Principal Partner since 2021, has now committed fresh funds to the Trust as it becomes the new Principal Partner of both the Women’s First Team as well as the pathway sides.
And, speaking with Select, the Trust’s Manager Dave Evans (below), says that while there’s still much work to do, the rebuilding process is in full swing. Here’s what he’s got to say:
So, Dave, the Women’s First Team is in a period of flux. How have you tackled the rebuild?
It’s been a difficult year for everyone associated with the Women’s First Team, there’s no getting away from that. In a few short years the side has gone from being competitive in the Women’s Super League to now playing in the Southern Region Women's Football League Premier Division, the fifth tier.
From the Trust’s perspective, it’s almost a complete rebuild.
We needed players, we needed a manager, we needed coaching staff, we needed somewhere to play and train, and we needed funding. To put the funding element into perspective, the Trust even sold a Portakabin to help with the finances.
But despite all of the challenges we’ve faced, I genuinely think we’re building something really special.
To see the enthusiasm of everyone involved in the Women’s First Team is infectious - they just want to play, develop and grow. I honestly love being a part of it.
The Women’s First Team lost lots of experienced players when you moved down the divisions. How did you recruit for the new-look side?
That was our main priority - to get players in. We held trials, with invitations going out to all of the local grassroots clubs. We had 100 applicants which we dwindled down to around 50 potentials, which was then honed further following various training sessions. Recruitment is still ongoing.
Crucially, we were able to retain a core group of players from our Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) who make up our younger age groups, Under-10s to Under-12s. We then have two older age groups of Under-13s and Under-15s while an Under-21s side will be in place in due course.
When it comes to new signings, we welcomed players like Jordanne Hoesli-Atkins, our captain, who is extremely experienced having played in Tier 3 and who is also really articulate. If we ever need any advice getting across to the players, we go straight to Jordanne.
And then you’ve got people like Cherry Preisner, our amazing goalkeeper. She’s 16 years old and has been with Reading FC since she was 9 having come through our academy pathway. She’s already having a phenomenal season - especially when it comes to heroics in penalty shootouts!
(Pic credit: Neil Graham)
And what about the managing and coaching team?
The First Team’s Manager is Pedro Bruno, a former Performance Analyst at Cambridge United and who has previously worked with Reading FC as Under-16s Assistant Coach and First Team Analyst for the Women’s side.
Pedro wants them to play attractive football, with a philosophy that sees them playing the ball out from the back, starting with a goalkeeper who needs to be able to distribute it. And when we’ve not got the ball, it’s about being as compact as we can and winning it back. It’s great to watch.
Besides Pedro, we’ve got Emma Hopkins as Head of Women and Girl’s Football, player-turned mentor Shelley Strange as First Team Coach, a goalkeeper coach, strength and conditioning experts, and we’ve also got a Chaplain who’s present at all training sessions and games to support the players when it comes to welfare and wellbeing.
It’s a strong team that I’m extremely proud of.
You’re training and playing home games at Arbour Park Community Sports Stadium in Slough - what’s the atmosphere been like?
It’s great. The support base is completely different to what you might see with the men’s game, really encouraging, really supportive, and we’re getting around 150 spectators to our home games - which is amazing for Tier 5 football. If you can, I’d urge any supporters to come along. If you pre-book, it’s £5 for adults and £3 for under-21s, and your support doesn’t just help the team, it means additional funds for the Community Trust.
(Pic credit: Neil Graham)
And what about future ambitions?
We don’t want to set expectations too high and we don’t want to become too big, too soon.
The Women’s First Team operates at a loss - which it has always done - so we also need to be mindful when it comes to budgets.
But while we’re taking things week by week, game by game, we also want to be ambitious. The four-year plan is for us to be back in Tier 3 of the league pyramid, playing in the FA Women's National League Premier Division Southern.
Got any big games coming up that supporters should come and watch?
We’ve reached the Semi Finals of the Berks & Bucks FA Women's Senior Cup - thanks in part to some penalty-saving skills from our ‘keeper Cherry Preisner.
We’ll be playing Maidenhead, who are in the league above us, in a home fixture at Arbour Park.
The tie takes place February 16th, 2025, and we’d urge as many people as we can to get down to Arbour Park and to show their support.
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