Our Wildcats programme provides girls aged 5–11 with a fun and welcoming introduction to football.

The sessions are designed for girls who may be playing for the first time and want an opportunity to explore the game without the immediate pressure of joining a team.

Players will:

• Develop fundamental football skills
• Spend more time with the ball
• Build confidence and make new friends
• Take part in fun, age-appropriate activities
• Learn in a positive, female-friendly environment

Wildcats is also the first stage of our pathway into team football. As groups develop, our aim is to create new Maypole FC girls’ teams so that players can progress together.

Squad Girls supports older girls, including those who may have discovered football later or have not previously had the opportunity to join a team.

It provides a comfortable bridge between introductory football and a more structured team environment. Players can learn the game, improve their technical ability and develop the confidence needed to take their next step.

Squad Girls is ideal for players who:

• Are new to football
• Consider themselves late starters or late bloomers
• Want to develop before joining a team
• Have played casually but not within organised football
• Want to meet other girls with similar experience

As with Wildcats, the long-term aim is to use the programme to create sustainable new girls’ teams within Maypole FC.

Maypole FC is proud to already have three established female teams:

• Under-14 Lionesses
• Under-16 Lionesses
• Maypole FC Women’s First Team

These teams are a hugely important part of the female pathway we are building. They provide girls with the opportunity to represent Maypole FC in competitive football while continuing to develop their technical ability, tactical understanding, confidence and love for the game.

Our Under-14 and Under-16 Lionesses provide structured team environments for teenage players at important stages of their development. Players can train regularly, experience competitive fixtures and develop alongside teammates and coaches who are committed to helping them progress.

The introduction of our Women’s First Team is another significant step forward for the club. It creates a visible destination at the top of our pathway and ensures that our younger female players can see a genuine opportunity to continue representing Maypole FC beyond youth football.

We want girls attending Wildcats or Squad Girls to be able to look across the club and see older girls and women wearing the Maypole FC badge. Those players provide positive role models and show our youngest participants what could be possible if they continue to enjoy the game and develop.

Our vision is for players to progress naturally through the club - from introductory sessions into girls’ team football, through the older age groups and eventually into our Women’s First Team.

As our female section continues to grow, we aim to establish additional teams at younger age groups, close the gaps within the pathway and create opportunities for even more girls to play competitive football.

These three teams are an important foundation, but they are only the beginning. We want to build a thriving and sustainable female section in which every player has somewhere to begin, somewhere to develop and somewhere to progress.