Not the Road to Wembley this time

A number of you who know me will know that I have spent the last three years following different FA competitions through to the final at Wembley. These journeys have taken me as far afield as Bideford in the south west up to Middlesbrough in the north east. I must have travelled hundreds of miles to see these games and have some very fond memories.

So, what to do in 2009/10? Looking at the other competitions the FA runs, one of the biggest is the FA Women's Cup. And why not? Women's football continues to grow in popularity and England have just reached the European Championship Final, something our men's team have never done! I did go and see a women's international in the early 80s at The Valley and I do remember being impressed and surprised at the skill levels so it will be interesting to see what the sport is like at lower levels (at least at first!)

The first step was to get a game to go and see and following my usual practice that is the Preliminary Round tie closest to where I live (Grantham). The number of teams entering is down on last year (have the FA made it more difficult?) so the nearest game to me is in Yorkshire, Dearne and District Ladies vs KirkleesLadies.

So where is Dearne? I must say, I have never heard of it. Kirklees, yes, as I used to live in Bradford for a while so I know that area of West Yorkshire quite well. Thank goodness for the internet where I found web sites for both clubs. Unfortunately, the Dearne one seems a little out of date and Kirklees seems to be very much a one woman show (Amy Hesselden - well done Amy!) Obviously, no surprise in that all these players do this for fun.

Anyway, armed with as much info as I can get, I think I have enough to at least get to see the game tomorrow in Wath-upon-Dearne, near Rotherham.

The two teams are in the same league, The West Riding County Women's Football league, although I think Dearne may have just got promoted to it. Dearne seem to play at a local recreation ground, although the map seems to show that it is a bit more than that (which it probably has to be if they are allowed to enter this competition?!).

That's about all I know - I really am plunging into the unknown with this one - but I'm hoping that the 'football community' is as friendly in the women's game as it is in the men's - it will be an experience I'm sure!!