 Yesterday, Sunday 11 July, around a thousand females battled it out for first place in the largest women’s and girls’ five-a-side football tournament in the UK. The Victoria Trophy, sponsored by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, kicked off in Nottingham at Clifton Playing Fields to celebrate its 28th anniversary.
This is the second year that Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has sponsored the event and they were performing exciting demonstrations throughout the day to promote the Fire and Rescue Service as a career option for women.
Matt Sismey, Equality and Diversity Officer at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, hopes that this tournament has helped encourage women and girls to consider the Fire and Rescue Service as a possible career option.
He commented: ‘This is the second year that we have sponsored the Victoria Trophy. It is fantastic to see such a high standard of football being played here today by a group of such physically fit and talented players. In the Fire and Rescue Service, you have to have a good standard of fitness, so we have the perfect target audience. It is very important for us to erase stereotypes that the Fire and Rescue Service is only for men, and it was great to see so many of the junior girls taking an interest in our work and watching the demonstrations.’
Nicola Bottomley, a Watch Manager at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, also attended the tournament.
She remarked: ‘The Fire and Rescue Service, like football, has always been dominated by men and we are trying to make women see that this could also be the career for them. The Fire and Rescue Service is a very rewarding job. I never get bored as each day differs from the next, and I love the fact I don’t have to be stuck in an office all day. There are so many opportunities within the Fire and Rescue Service and, with such a variety of roles on offer, I would recommend it to any woman who may be looking at career choices for the first time, or even thinking about changing direction later in life.’
In the Open age group it was the local team that lifted the trophy. Nottingham Forest Ladies were victorious after beating Gloucester City ladies in a nerve racking penalty shoot out.
The results for the juniors were as follows:
Under 10’s Champion: Oadby & Wigston Girls
Under 12’s Champion: Nottingham City Girls
Under 13’s Champion: Denton Girls 2
Under 16’s Champion: Leicester City | 