Following requests by numerous club members we have decided to break our respectful silence and issue a statement, to reassure all that NWGFL will continue to be devoted in providing a female only provision in Norfolk and North Suffolk as we have for many, many years.

First and foremost, we are a not-for-profit league. We exist solely for the benefit of women’s and girls’ football in Norfolk and North Suffolk. We cater exclusively for females, and we are proud of this.

We offer a pathway from U7 into Ladies football, with some age groups having multiple divisions. We also accept development team entries throughout the season because we want to capture and nurture our youngest players’ interests. Only this week we have had new team entries in U8 and U10, these teams being created from Wildcats Centre’s which is amazing and we fully support clubs who work hard to bring these teams into the league.

We are currently in talks to look to provide a unique U18 provision next season, which is exciting and will hopefully bridge that gap from youth football into the adult game.

We have held youth League Forums at all ages to listen to our clubs and collaborate on new and existing ideas.

Our Cup Finals days have been a great success over the years enjoyed by all attending, and following the success of the inaugural Awards Evening last season we are already looking ahead to a bigger and better Awards Evening to finalise this season.

A service we are particularly proud of is our commitment to mental health first aid training to support all involved with grassroots football. In collaboration with Bluebells Mental Health Training, we encourage anyone associated with the NWGFL to engage in Mental Health First Aid training.

A large number of our member clubs have vocally reiterated their support to the NWGFL and stated their intentions to remain with the league.

Sadly, the situation caused by very few is seeking to divide clubs and teams. There are a small number of clubs that have expressed interest in joining a new all-girls provision, however there are teams within those same clubs who wish to remain a part of the NWGFL – their voices left unheard and matters taken out of their hands.

In football, everyone should be respected – clubs, teams, players, referees and volunteers. We as a league have always remained respectful to all other leagues and haven’t taken any opportunities to try and damage the reputation of our fellow hard-working volunteers.

Sadly, this respect is not being reciprocated, looking to tarnish our reputation through any means necessary to drive clubs away from us. By tarnishing the league, they are tarnishing everybody that has worked so hard to make this league a success. Not just league volunteers; but players, coaches, club volunteers and more.

If you are a club being promised the earth to move, please read between the lines the provisions on offer would not be too dissimilar to what is already offered by the NWGFL.

Women’s and Girls football is now rightly experiencing the excitement, the growth and the interest that it should. Rather than growing a league organically, other leagues prefer to steal the achievements of others and claim them as their own. Sadly this is not the first time this has happened. We were there when female football wasn’t fashionable.

Some of our clubs and teams have stated that a big draw of our league is the fact that it is an all-female provision. Put simply, this would not be possible under a mixed league, the boys’ provision will always be bigger and take precedence.

Another concern is what happens when players reach adult age? Entering a youth league would mean nothing, there is no adult provision in a youth league.

There are a lot of question marks around what the actual motives are of trying to divide the female provision in Norfolk and North Suffolk, we truly care about the female game and have never considered changing to a mixed league, but it seems others have an ambition to be the ONLY youth league in Norfolk, whatever impact this may have on the female game.

One thing is guaranteed games are cancelled in every league, mainly due to the weather, this is something no one has control over no matter who you claim to be.

All league setups up and down the country could be improved and we are no different. But we are constantly evolving, looking to implement new ideas and ways of working that will make everyone’s lives that little bit easier and keeping the focus on what it should be – women and girls playing football.

NWGFL Committee

2024 / 2025 Team Entry From

The new 2024/2025 team entry form is now available online on the league website – www.nwgfl.net.

Entry fees have not been released,  but please be reassured that fees will be kept as low as possible. We are not a profit making league, our aim is always to give back with exceptional cup final events, top class trophies and medals as well as a full evening of awards to reward our clubs.  We will also be looking at other areas within the grassroots game, where we can support our club members.   So please complete your team entries so we can start to build next season, and we will be in touch before the start of the 2024 / 2025 to confirm entry fees.

Please note, we will be looking at running additional divisions next season, so if you chosen format is not listed please email the League Secretary who can advise accordingly,  obviously all formats are dependent on entry numbers but we are here to ensure to the best of our ability every female has the opportunity to play football in Norfolk.

The league AGM will be confirmed in due course, full details will be circulated.  With the divisional league forums being held during the 2023/2024 season where our clubs have a voice in discussing what they want moving forwards, we are confident we will be offering what is already a great female football provision in Norfolk an enhanced superb league provision to suit all our clubs and teams.  It is important for all team entries to be submitted early so we can work on the league constitution well  in advance of the AGM and build our constitution for an exciting 2024/2025 season.

The new 2023/2024 team entry form is now available online on the league website – www.nwgfl.net.

Entry fees have not been decided yet, so please complete your team entries and we will be in touch in the coming months to confirm the fees.

Please note, we will be looking at running in addition to the other divisions, a U7 and a U18 division next season, obviously dependent on entry numbers.

The league AGM will be held on the 27th June at Open Academy, full details will be circulated in due course. It’s important for all team entries to be submitted by 31st May 2023 so we can circulate the league constitution in advance of the AGM.

Please use the link below to submit a nomination for the Norfolk Women’s & Girls Football League Awards evening to be held on the 15th June. All nominations must be received by 31st March.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScu6BNeRK5NjcL31-5h84uvkJJlBgefMJlV7ATeE7QD-ZxeIA/viewform?usp=sf_link

We are pleased to announce that due to the success of the inaugural NWGFL awards evening last year, we will hosting another awards evening in 2024!

NWGFL are taking part in the Silent Support Weekend on Saturday 25th February for Divisions U8 to U12.

NWGFL are part of the FA trial to remove deliberate heading in football matches across U12 level and below in England from the start of the 2022/23 season.

During the trial we will be observing matches and collecting data, as well as gathering feedback and observations from everyone involved.

Why the trial?
• Aligns matches with training – currently heading in training at under 12s and below is eliminated or restricted.
• Support the development of more skilful players – stay on the ball when in possession.
• Player Welfare – mitigate against any potential risk that may be linked to heading the ball while research is ongoing in this area.

What exactly are the new laws that will be introduced as part of this trial?
The law changes for these trials are dictated by IFAB and state:

1. Deliberately heading the ball is an offense punishable by an indirect free kick. This will also mean the introduction of indirect free-kicks in mini-soccer in this circumstance.
2. The indirect free kick is taken at the point where the ball was deliberately headed, except where a player of the defending team deliberately heads the ball in their own penalty area, the indirect free kick is taken from the penalty mark.
3. Deliberately heading the ball is not a cautionable (yellow card) or sending-off (red card) offence unless it:

• Stops or interferes with a promising attack (yellow card)
• Denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (red card)
• Occur often enough to be considered “persistent misconduct” (yellow card)

The FA have developed some resources that explains the process, please see below:

Heading in Football Trial Q&A

Heading in Football Trial Guidance

Heading in Football Trial – Clubs

Heating in Football Trial – Parents

Heading in Football Trial – Coaches