England keeper and Women’s Euro22 champion Mary Earps played for the Colts from when she was 9-years-old.
The goalkeeper for Women’s Euro 2022 England team’s historic 2-1 victory over Germany, Mary Earps started out here in West Bridgford at The Colts.
Chairman of West Bridgford Colts Peter Stansbury said:
‘Mary Earps played for West Bridgford Colts from the age of 9 for three years.
‘It was clear from the early days that Mary was going to do well and quickly stood out as a future star, and within three years was moving on to opportunities further up the football pyramid.
‘Mary loved the game from the first moment she played but in the early years it was as much about fun and friends as it was about football.
Mary recently commented “I think everyone loves their first team. I’ve always played in goal and this was the first time I was part of a proper team. And I loved my jersey because it was shiny. All the girls in the team were friends, the parents were friends and we’d go round to each others’ houses”
West Bridgford Colts is now the largest youth football club in the UK with 130 teams.
21 of these are girls teams with 282 players and it is the fastest growing part of the club.
The high profile of senior women’s football over recent years culminating in the 2022 Women’s Euros, has motivated and encouraged many young players.
They have been inspired by the Lionesses’ achievements and girls football will continue to go from strength to strength. We no longer talk about Girls and Women’s football being a success in the future, it is a success now.
Young girls throughout the Club and the wider football community are already loving their football but the Lionesses’ success will ensure many more girls are inspired to get involved.
Writing for the FA website englandfootball.com Mary explains her journey:
‘When I was around ten, the dad of one of my friends at school set up a local grassroots team called West Bridgford Colts and then I played for them.
‘When I was growing up, girls didn’t really play football in the park or on the street where I lived. My brother would go to the park but he was two years younger than me. So then when he was around the age of six and I was eight, we started playing in the garden and would then go around to the park when we were old enough to go on our own or my dad would take us.’
‘I was around the age of 14 when I started playing for Leicester City and that was the first time I took football more seriously. Back then it was a centre of excellence, rather than the RTCs (Regional Talent Centres) we have now. I had previously been on trial at Derby, which was the only other centre of excellence in my area, but they rejected me.
‘So I played locally until the age of 14 and when the Leicester trials came up, I went for it and I got in. It was just brilliant.
‘It was not until the back end of university that I started thinking I could become a professional footballer, so around 2016. That was the first time that I didn’t have school or university to balance with my football and I decided to give it a go whole-heartedly.’
‘So I played locally until the age of 14 and when the Leicester trials came up, I went for it and I got in. It was just brilliant.’
