Windmill Hill City Farm Football Club
Based in Bedminster at the farm, Windmill Hill City Farm Football Club (WHCFFC) has been running for over a year now. What started as a one-off birthday kick about has evolved into a real community. The team prides itself on being gender and ability inclusive.
Bruno and Steph are founding members of the club and have very different levels of experience of playing football. Bruno has been playing since he was 8 whilst Steph said that prior to joining WHCFFC she “had no experience playing football before, had little knowledge of the rules and of football language”.
According to the Football Association, ‘The game is for anyone, anytime, anywhere’. More and more women and girls are getting into the sport, with over 1500 new teams being registered in the 2022-23 season.
Explanations behind this rise include greater coverage of the women’s game as well as England’s success at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament. Furthermore, in the wake of lockdown people are craving a sense of community and to get outdoors.
Both Bruno and Steph resonate with this and emphasise the importance of football as a way to meet people, ““Football allows me to find connections with others” said Bruno. Steph added that playing “has been such an important way to see my friends and meet new people, which can be hard to do at this age, when everyone is so busy. There are few ways you can easily meet new people in your mid-20s”.
The benefit of the team being mixed ability according to the players is that the emphasis is on enjoyment and that they are able to learn from one another. Steph said that “you can be an absolute novice and the more experienced players are there to help you. I have been playing for about a year and a half now, and I have definitely gotten better, which feels really nice”. Bruno also points out that it can often be difficult for someone with no prior experience to join a team if they want to, “I think we have to be conscious of the opportunities available. There are barriers beyond immediate access. It’s not easy to join a team even if there is an expressed openness to all levels of experience”.
This drive to be inclusive also meant that the club is mixed-gender. In his words, Bruno’s motivation for this was that, “ensuring a club is gender-inclusive is the best foundation to further diversify across all social categories”.
The team play on the pitch at Windmill City Farm, with their fees for the pitch supporting the important community space.
Genevieve Brown
Contact the team on instagram @up.the.farm