Club Focus: Sheffield FC Ladies

A club focus on Sheffield FC Ladies, newly promoted to the FA Women’s Premier League having climbed from the bottom of the women’s pyramid in just eight years. Manager Helen Mitchell explains that Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, fully supports its women’s, futsal and disability sides, and that the team plays at the club’s ground in Dronfield on the southern edge of Sheffield, where the club also owns the adjacent pub. Mitchell says every squad member matters but names Jodie Michalska, Melissa Cook, Ellie Gilliatt and captain Carla Ward as players with proven Premier League records. She praises the standard and professionalism of the league, names longest-serving supporter John Shepherd and octogenarian Norman Cann as the club’s biggest fans, and targets a top-four finish and a county cup final.