A girl’s football team from Cholsey is riding the crest of a wave exactly one year after it’s first fixture, thanks to support from construction specialists the Sheehan Group.
Cholsey Bluebirds U10s started in the bottom division of the Oxfordshire Girls Football League and lost their first match 27-0 with a skeleton squad and no substitutions.
A year on, the girls have won promotion from their division after losing just one game since September with the squad now home to more than a dozen football-mad youngsters.
And they’ve been kitted out with their own sponsored clothing including full playing kit and team jackets to wear when arriving for matches as part of the Sheehan Group’s support of the club.
With two coaches in place and three other girls teams playing regular competitive matches, Head Coach James O’Leary and Assistant Coach Jack Williams agreed that the sky’s the limit.
Proud
“Winning promotion is an incredible achievement – particularly after a challenging start for the girls,” said James. “They’ve shown resilience, determination and character to build the team to what it is today and as a coach I couldn’t be prouder.
“It’s so important young footballers, male and female, can play, train and learn from each other in a secure environment which an organised grassroots teams like ourselves can provide.
“It goes without saying physical and financial resources are always at a premium, which makes us very grateful to the Sheehan Group for its support.
“The agreement has genuinely provided the girls with that extra confidence within themselves and there’s always a great atmosphere during training and on matchdays.”
Founded in 1974, the Sheehan Group is a family-run business based in Yarnton that specialises in construction, recycling and civil engineering.
Last year, its team celebrated a landmark recycling milestone after saving more than one million tonnes of construction and demolition waste from UK landfill sites in the decade since the group invested in CDE recycling technology.
Giving back
Tara Sheehan, Finance Director at the Sheehan Group added: “We’re so pleased to contribute in a small way to the success story of Cholsey Bluebirds U10s.
“We’re big believers in the power of collaborative thinking and are committed to giving back to grassroots clubs which provide positive outcomes to people as part of our community values.
“It’s wonderful to follow the team’s progress on and off the pitch and we wish James, Jack and the girls every success for the rest of the year.”
