Lindsey Relay, an independent electrical retailer and Euronics agent, is continuing the legacy of the UEFA Women’s Euro competition by sponsoring its local girls’ football team.

Based in the market town of Barton Upon Humber in North Lincolnshire, Lindsey Relay is a family-run business spanning over 50 years’ service. The store has always had strong links to the local community as Paul Vickers, director at Lindsey Relay explains, “we love Barton and the surrounding area, we take every opportunity we can to be involved where we can be” and this is why the retailer is such a proud sponsor of Barton Juniors Under 12’s girls football team.

Local community

“When we heard the under 12s were looking for sponsors, we jumped at the chance,” says Paul. “Barton is a great local community, so we knew the manager and a lot of their players and parents.

“We love their team spirit and they always play with a smile on their faces you can just tell all of the squad love playing football and representing Barton Juniors. We are happy we could help.”

Grassroots football

Paul continues, “I’ve always loved football and, being an Arsenal fan, I’ve watched with interest how they have invested in the Arsenal Ladies and grown the fan base. Seeing players who have played or are still playing for Arsenal Ladies become household names is amazing. This is what inspires us, we want to give the girls the opportunities to enjoy football at grassroots level, but who knows, it would be great to see the next star of the women’s game starting their career here in Barton!”

The UEFA Women’s Euro competition galvanised national support for the Lionesses this summer and Paul knows it was important for girls’ football, “everyone needed a feel-good story this summer and the Lionesses achievements were fantastic. We think it is so important we were able to harness a small part of that feel good factor. We really wanted to make sure everyone had the opportunity to play football at grassroots level especially now the interest in the women’s game is bigger than ever.”

Matthew Moore, manager of the Under 12’s team, comments, “There has been a massive increase in the popularity of girls’ football, and I have suddenly gained a huge squad of girls all willing to play and want to be involved in football. We are lucky enough to play at Baysgarth school sports village, which has been brilliant. There are a variety of grass pitches that have really helped us train and play every week, the 3G facility is ideal now we are in winter and it has got darker during training time. The women’s game will hopefully go from strength to strength and encourage more and more girls to play.”

Matilda Moore, a player from the under 12’s team, says,” I like playing football because it helps build friendships as well as being a fast action sport that involves lots of running, which I enjoy. I am a competitive person and like to do well and feel football is a rewarding sport. I love encouraging my teammates as it’s a big part of football. I was lucky enough to go to the UEFA Euro Women’s semi-final at Sheffield where we cheered on the lionesses to victory against Sweden. I thought the atmosphere was thrilling and felt like the whole country was backing the women’s team. I was over the moon when they won the euros and felt it was thoroughly deserved and one of the best sporting achievements I have ever seen.

“My brother Oscar is my footballing hero. I look up to him and have learnt so much from playing football with him. He has taught me everything I know about the sport and always encourages me and keeps me driven. I would like to be as good a footballer as he is so I can prove to him that girls can play just a well as boys.”

The Euronics difference

Euronics has signed a major four-year sponsorship deal to become an official partner of UEFA Women’s Football. Euronics believes women’s football is not only a great way to promote health and wellbeing, but also helps to build confidence and self-image, as well as showcase equality and drive positive social change. The aim is to support the rapid growth of women’s football at all levels and, with Euronics support, agents will become an even bigger part of their local community.

Paul adds, “We’ve hopefully helped give the Barton Juniors confidence that local businesses are interested in their team and their achievements. It’s great to know that our sponsorship has helped them by not worrying about how they were going to buy a new kit.  Hopefully by sponsoring the kit we’ve let the girls just be able to enjoy their football with the added bonus of looking great in the new kit.

“We must say we have found sponsoring the girls’ team a really rewarding experience. We would encourage other stores to think about sponsoring their local grassroots team.”

Matthew continues, “The sponsorship has really helped us as a team to look professional and has given us a lift to want to perform well. This boost to the team has come at a great time and has given us extra encouragement and support from a local business in the community.”

For further details on the UEFA Women’s Football sponsorship, visit https://www.euronics.co.uk/uefa-hub. For more details on being part of Euronics in the UK email: membership@cihgroup.com.