New football tournament for girls across West

The West will soon be home to a new football tournament for girls, following on from the Lionesses’ success on Sunday.

The competition was announced today by the new Mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, during a visit to Mangotsfield United FC’s ground in South Gloucestershire. Cossham Street Stadium has recently seen a £1.2 million upgrade – with over £900,000 of funding from the Football Foundation – including a new state-of-the-art 3G artificial pitch and LED floodlights.

The new tournament is to be open to teams of Year 6 (10-11 year old) girls from local schools across the West, with more details to be confirmed by the autumn. The new Mayor met with women’s team players, their manager, and club officials at Mangotsfield United, with a tour of the stadium, joined by representatives of the Gloucestershire FA.

The Football Foundation have invested £17 million into pitches and facilities in the West of England since 2000, supporting 1,400 local teams. A further £65 million of projects – including 49 pitches and 52 changing pavilions – have been identified for future funding through Local Football Facility Plans covering clubs and leagues across Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

Credit: West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.

Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, said:

“The next generation of Lionesses have, like people across the West, already been inspired by continued success of the England women’s team. The record investment planned for new pitches and facilities by the Football Foundation and others, just like I’ve seen here at Mangotsfield United’s Cossham Street Stadium, fills me with confidence for the future of our national game.

“A new cup tournament for girls in our region is another means by which we can continue to connect communities through sport. I’m looking forward to watching some of these matches unfold once the tournament is up and running, and hope be watching the finals at a local stadium here in the West Country next summer!”

Steve Lavis, First Team Manager at Mangotsfield Utd WFC, said:

 

“The upgrades to the ground really have changed the dynamic of the club. It’s a pleasure to see so many teams using and enjoying the facilities.

“We want to grow the women’s and girls section to eventually be the biggest in the area. It will take a lot of time, effort and planning but we feel that we have the support and we are getting our infrastructure sorted to try and achieve this. The addition of our now under 18s and under 15s have been a massive boost to the club and shows that we are moving in the right direction. We will be working diligently to implement a wildcat section for younger players ASAP.

“It was great to have a visit from the Mayor today, it shows that the hard work that the wider club and committee have done to get the funding for the pitch has not gone unnoticed.”

Mangotsfield United were formed in 1951, with teams now including two women’s and under 18s/15s girls sides. The women’s first team play in Division One of the Gloucestershire County Women’s Football League. The £1.25 million upgrades to Cossham Street included £775,499 of funding from the Premier League, Football Association and the government’s charity, Football Foundation, with a further £150,000 joint award from the Premier League, making a total of £925,499.

Helen joined mayors from across the country in roaring on the Lionesses ahead of Sunday’s final and, on Monday, proudly welcomed GWR’s Lionesses train to the West with players from Bristol City WFC and Bristol Rovers WFC.

The government has announced a Women’s Sport Taskforce to help lead a decade of change through to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035, for which the home nations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have been confirmed as the sole bidders to host the tournament. Current Year 6 pupils in the West will, in 2035, be only a few years younger than Lauren Hemp (now 24), who started in the final for England on Sunday and whose career has included SGS College and Bristol City WFC.

Priority access to grassroots football pitches for women and girls is set to be more than doubled, with a clear target for equal access as demand grows. These moves are the first details set out on how some of the government’s £400 million investment in new grassroots facilities, announced in June 2025, will be allocated.