'Lionesses' wins brought us hundreds of players'

With the UK looking set to host the 2035 Women's Football World Cup, the biggest girls' football club in the West says the success of the national team has brought hundreds of new players in.

Downend Flyers has more than 400 members across 24 youth teams and has seen a huge increase in players since the Lionesses' success in major tournaments in the past four years.

"When I started playing football there was one team for every age group and then it just seemed to like double and double," said 14-year-old player Pixie.

The UK's bid was the only one submitted to host the tournament, and Bristol is one of the potential host cities.

Pixie said the Lionesses winning the 2022 Euros "sparked" more players to join the club.

"It just started off being a nice little fun activity to do and then just turned into my whole life basically," she said.

Skye Smith, participation manager for the Gloucestershire FA, agreed England Women winning the 2022 Euros on home soil did "huge things for the game".

"It's massive that we're able to be in a position where we could potentially do that all over again," she added.

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The club now has teams from five-year-olds up to adults, with most age groups having more than one team, relying heavily on parents and volunteers to run them.

There is a waiting list and commercial officer Jonathan Mills said pitch availability was a challenge for the club.

He said men and boys teams have "long-standing relationships" with all-weather facility providers, so there is "just no room for us".

"We've got 30 on the waiting list wanting to play but can't fit them in."

Mr Mills added it was a "real shame as one of them could be a future Lioness".

Bristol City Council's deputy leader Heather Mack said there was a real "buzz" in the city over the summer and the large number of people visiting during that time had a "significant impact" on the economy.

Ms Mack said even with investment costs, hosting major sports events "is going to benefit everyone in the city".

According to The Football Association, the number of girls playing football has doubled in the past four years, with 2.7 million registered to play last season.

Lani, who is nine, is in her second season at the club, and said she loves the fact "it doesn't matter that you're from different schools because you play on the same team".

Meanwhile, player and under eight's coach Laura Ballard said she was "proud to see the increase in provision for young girls".

A bid for Bristol to be one of the host cities of the 2035 Women's Football World Cup was backed by city councillors in October.

It comes after Ashton Gate staged four knockout games as part of the Women's Rugby World Cup in the summer.

Ross Wormald, chief operating officer at Ashton Gate, said: "We are honoured to be included in the UK bid and have worked hard with the city-wide Bristol team to put forward a compelling case for Ashton Gate."

Councillor Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, said: "We fully back the bid to bring the FIFA Women's World Cup 2035 to the UK in what would be one of the most inclusive, welcoming and inspiring events our country has witnessed."

Fifa will make a decision on the UK's bid by April 2026.

It will then decide on the final selection of host cities in 2030, with Leeds, Birmingham and Nottingham also in the running.

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