Non-League Deadline Day & the Sandhurst midfielder making World Cup history
A midweek look across the Berkshire footballing landscape.
In this newsletter
What Reading FC Women means to you
Berkshire Football Awards update
Sandhurst’s World Cup star
Non-league deadline day
What Reading FC Women means to you
“Our squad will lose its academy status if the women get relegated – this is an FA rule, never mind if the club disappears.
“We are all a little bemused by this academy rule where the women’s team performance affects the Academy status. Great staff, amazing team spirit with the girls. We don’t have anywhere near the resources the other academy teams have but we compete equally from a football point of view – recently beating Spurs and Chelsea.
“Locally there is nothing available for the girls at this level. It would mean living with a host family and changing our daughter’s education plans. We need to fight to keep it!”
The words of a concerned parent from our in depth look at what Reading FC Women means to its players and supporters.
With news of an exclusivity agreement between the clubs owner and a prospective new owner, Football in Berkshire decided to highlight the importance of the women’s team - the highest-ranked Women’s team in the country and until last summer, the only professional one.
Launching Friday: Berkshire Football Awards are returning for 2024
On Friday, nominations will open for the 2024 Berkshire Football Awards. The road to Tom White, Double-Barrelled Brewery and the feel-good football night of the year starts here.
If you’d like to partner with us to reach thousands a month for the next few months up to the awards night in June - then take a look at the form here and let us know. FOUR SPACES LEFT! It’s incredibly inexpensive AND your business logo will be on the website and the award itself.
Here’s a reminder of 2023 when Tom White spoke to Kai Walters about scoring the winning goal at Wembley Stadium:
Sandhurst Town’s World Cup star
For some, the international break is meh (but that is where Neil Maskell is very, very wrong). Because every break there is almost always a story of a Berkshire-based footballer heading off to sunnier climes - and that’s not hard right now is it?
This break has been a very special one for our adopted national team Anguilla who have just won their very first World Cup Qualifying match, beating Turks & Caicos on penalties.
Ex Windsor and Langley defender Luke Paris netted in the shootout out but it was Sandhurst midfielder Kian Duncan who won it!
Anguilla’s progress means they will now face El Salvador, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname in the World Cup Qualifiers Second Round Group Stage with two fixtures in June.
Non-League deadline day
For our sins, we thought we’d run a little non-league deadline day blog (it’s today). Wokingham & Emmbrook are already pranking us, while Woodley United so far are the only club to confirm anything.
You might also like to read from around the internet:
Berkshire and Oxfordshire boundary debate still rages 50 years on (lovely North Berks League angle)
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