JERSEY’S female football scene has been boosted by the birth of a new girls’ squad at Grouville FC.

The club’s struggling ladies’ senior side was forced to retire from the Coca-Cola Ladies’ League earlier this month amid injury woes and lack of interest, yet girls’ football is flourishing with the announcement that 20 new junior players have been signed.

The move makes Grouville the fourth Island football club to have founded a girls’ side, after First Tower, Jersey Wanderers and St Brelade, although a realistic minimum of five are needed to establish a league.
Presently players attend weekly coaching sessions and play competitive fixtures at a monthly football festival.

New Grouville girls’ coach Kayleigh Alexandre, who also runs training for First Tower players, said the biggest problem facing girls’ football in Jersey is a lack of willing and qualified coaches. She said: ‘The hardest thing is getting coaches who are qualified to get in contact with the clubs. That’s the problem facing most clubs, even though there are plenty of coaches on the Island. There isn’t a problem with interest – I’ve managed to get 20 girls from Grainville and Haute Vallée Schools to come to Grouville sessions just through the football festivals.’

• Picture: Girls’ football remains extremely popular in the Island