Target reached!
If we succeed against Exeter City, we will be through to the quarter finals of the c...
Cup Travel Expenses for Distant Away Games
Ilford, Greater London, United Kingdom
Aim
We aim to show independent teams can win in women's football. We've reached the last 16 in the cup and are raising travel costs for the tie.
Who are we?
Founded twenty years ago, London Seaward FC are a not-for-profit, player-owned, independent women’s football club based in East London. our home ground is Oakside Stadium in Redbridge.
Our goal is to show women’s clubs don’t need to be someone else’s “women’s team” to compete and win on the pitch. We're committed to ensuring equality of access to football regardless of background or income, and to speaking openly and honestly about the challenges faced by female football players and clubs.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Two weeks ago, we secured a historic win over Chatham Town, a division above us, in the FAWNL Plate. In doing so, we earned ourselves a place in the last 16 of the tournament, and a draw against Exeter City, away.
London to Exeter is an eight hour round trip.
As an independent not-for-profit club, with no external financial backer or parent men's club to fall back on, we operate on tighter budgets than many other clubs and have a responsibility to balance our budget each season. We also want to see our players supported so they can focus on competing on the pitch.
To ensure our players arrive fresh and ready to play in such an important cup game, we'd like to provide a coach with multiple pick up points (at Stratford and Harlow) for the journey.
Unlike the FA Cup, advancement in this competition does not bring with it prize money that can be used to subsidise extra costs. As part of the general cost-of-living crisis, coach hire costs have increased. In order to provide a coach, we therefore need to raise additional funds for our travel budget this season as we currently lack a dedicated travel sponsor (who would either cover the budget or provides coaches at significant discount).
How we’ll spend the money raised
We have consulted a number of local coach companies to secure the best price possible for this full-day, long distance hire. Money raised from this crowdfunder will cover:
- Cost of coach hire
- Associated tax and fees
Any money raised that is not allocated to the above (e.g. if coach hire costs decrease) will be used to:
- Offer travel expense support to our dedicated away fans
- Used for future travel expenses in competitions this season
Player and community impact
Our goal as London Seaward is to support our players, their families and our community in East London. We aim to show girls and women of all ages, and from all cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, that they belong on the pitch. Not just this, but that they can wear their own colours, identity and badge, not just one more traditionally associated with the men's game.
Through what our players achieve on the pitch, we inspire our fans, our local community and the young girls who participate in our mascot scheme.
Playing in games like this, against bigger and better-known sides, helps us show that football is for everyone.
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us, as if we are unable to raise the required amount we will need to explore other options and ask hard questions about whether it is fair on our players to ask them to travel this far.
2. Spread the word. Share this project on social media and tell people why you love women's football, and why what we do as a club matters! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Become a sponsor. We have packages available from £200 to £20,000. Whether you are an individual or a business, we'd love to have you as part of the Seaward family. Contact us at [email protected] for more details.
4. Become our dedicated travel sponsor. For businesses, becoming our dedicated travel sponsor means guaranteed coverage and content from away games. Whether you're a coach company, a travel company, or just a business looking to raise your profile, being part of our journey as a successful, independent women's club is a powerful marketing or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) opportunity. Contact us at [email protected] for more details.
This project successfully funded on 27th October 2023