Brittany’s signed shirts and match games programmes.

Brittany Bell

When I started at Lincoln City Foundation Trust there were only 4 women working here, now there’s pretty much a 50/50 split!

I'm really passionate about how much it's moved and is evolving, there are so many more opportunities now for women in football.

Bella Bogg

I joined the girls team here as soon as I was 16, but at school, most of my mates were boys, and I was the only girl on the boys team.

I think some of the boys thought they’d be able to knock me over or that I wouldn’t be any good, until they realised I was at the same level they were, I think all that toughened me up!

It probably did them too.

Alicia Davis

We’re heading in the right direction, but women’s teams are still underfunded.

Some teams are dropping out as they can’t afford to play. There’s definitely a funding gap between men’s football and women’s football.

There are a lot more opportunities to participate now, but it could still be better.

Alicia’s whistle and Brittanys Family Excellence Gold Plaque.

Brittany Bell

If the club gets promoted, it opens so many more doors for the foundation.

More funding pots would become available through the Premier League, and more people could be involved with us. For now, it’s just continuing to provide a good, safe, fun place for people to visit.

We are a gold standard club, 4th in the English League for Family Excellence, so let’s keep that at the heart of everything that we do.

Margaret Done

There’s such exciting plans to develop the stadium with more seating, better access, social spaces, even a new scoreboard that I’ll be able to see properly with my bad eyesight!

I hope it stays as the family friendly club it is now, too.

Bella Bogg

I just want to develop as a player as much as I can, because at the end of the day, I'm still young. There are players in my team that are like, 30, and I'm only 20.

We're tier 4 at the moment, so I hope we can go to tier 3, tier 2, and then the Premier League.

I want to go as far as I can.

Margaret’s Framed Message and Assorted Memorabilia

Margaret Done

All I expect is the team to do their best.

If I ever hear fans shouting and telling the players that they’re rubbish, I always tell those fans that their negativity isn’t going to make the team any better!

We need to encourage each other, so I always make sure that I’m as positive as I can be!

Jocelyn Croft

I play defence, so on the pitch I’m usually being loud & outspoken at the back - but I have to say that my confidence has grown so much through playing.

Whether on or off the pitch, now if I have something say, I have the confidence to say it - in an appropriate manner, of course!

Bella Bogg

There’s a mum of one of the younger players on the team who comes to every match and shouts encouragement like there’s no tomorrow!

Every team needs a mum like this!

Alicia Davis

I know a referee who said he didn’t want to ref the girls game again, because they gave too much ‘back chat’.

I’d say we definitely give more mouth than the men do!

Get used to it.

A formation planning white board, Brittany’s photo and shin pads

Margaret Done

Teamwork on the pitch reflects teamwork in the fans - it feels like you can talk to a stranger if you support the same team.

Brittany Bell

I have this massive passion for what the Lincoln City Foundation does and we’re really embedded into the community around us. We work with primary schools, the police, people who are new to the country, we even give free tickets to communities who are underrepresented.

It’s the camaraderie of being together and being such different people, but all having that passion for football in a different way.

The football stadium is more than just your 3pm fix on a Saturday, it 7 days a week and really brings people together.

Alicia Davis

At school I’d be thinking about homework or I’d be worried about lessons, but when I play football, I don’t think about anything else. Even if I don’t get on with the person off the pitch, when I’m on the pitch I’m thinking about what's best for the team.

It’s the same when I’m coaching, I focus on the players and having fun with them.

My main goal used to be to get to the top, but now I just want to enjoy it.

Injury tape for fragile personalities, presented upon a rustic terrain.

Alicia Davis

I have always played football with boys since I was young. Sometimes, if you take the boys on and beat them, they can go crazy about it - but by contrast, if they take you on, they might go easier on you “because you’re a girl”. I’d say that generally we’re no less aggressive.

Women's football is a different game; the way we play, the speed of the game, we have our own way of being physical.

There are more concerns around injuries in women’s football - particularly Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries, which women are more prone to anatomically. However, there have been recent developments including creating specific football boots for women that give more freedom of movement and can reduce the risk.

A sliding tackle, with a three part roll to follow

Bella Bogg

I’ve noticed that in the women’s 1st team we don’t generally want to flatten each other or go for each other like the men’s team do.

We can still be aggressive, and we do like a dirty challenge - but we just like playing good football.

It’s nice to know people are watching and enjoying what we’re doing.

People follow us and comment about us on social media, and when the younger girls teams meet us, or come and mascot for us they get all giddy and it’s so nice to see.

A varied selection of sporting and everyday items

Alicia Davis

While I was in school, I was invited to join a ‘Talent Hub’ and had the chance to train every other week with other D/deaf, hearing impaired & disabled players. I didn’t know sign language as much as the rest of the deaf players, and when playing on non-disabled teams I’m not always able to hear my teammates - especially if it’s windy!

But we always find a way, my team mates are always supportive, and we all adapt to each other. It’s really changed my perspective on how we can all communicate.

The current level of my hearing means that I’m not eligible to play for a national team yet, but in future I’d love to join the Para England Football team.

Women’s current, and often unpractical, football attire

Alicia Davis

It’s so important to feel comfortable in your kit!

But, so much kit is fitted for men - the joggers are too long, or feel too baggy, and why would you give women white or light coloured shorts? ...It’s such a silly idea!

Some teams I’ve been on, we got things changed as a few of us spoke up, but generally with Sunday League, you get whatever is provided.

Things are changing, and as you get higher up, or for coaches, there is a specific women's fitted kit for players, but not at every level yet.

A small mix of the fives personal keepsakes and memorabilia

Margaret Done

Being 83, when I first started attending matches, some of the men sat in front of us thought that we must not know anything about football, but I was quick to correct them and said “I can use my eyes, so I can see who’s playing well and who isn’t” - now we all enjoy the game together.

Alicia Davis

For some women, if they haven't been playing for years, they can have low confidence, or be a bit apprehensive to start playing again.

I’d say, focus on the passion regardless of age, ability or what anyone else says or thinks. If you're passionate about football then that’s what you should do!

Brittany’s Apprentice Coach Certificate, football socks

Bella Bogg

Our coach always says, “everyone has a super strength”. Every match before we go on, she always reminds everyone: “remember to use your super strength today!”.

Brittany Bell

Coaching teaches you perseverance and that everyone’s best looks different - it’s about discovering what your best is - and a reminder to never give up.

Alicia Davis

Sometimes if it’s not going so well, you need to adapt the session to the group you've got. We’re always taught to “coach the session, not teach the session plan” it’s about knowing your team, taking the time to understand them, and what they need to play their best - on and off the pitch.

Jocelyn’s football boots

Jocelyn Croft

Since an FA ruling in 2024, trans people are no longer allowed to compete in women’s professional football in England. There’s also not a lot of representation in the local area, so I feel as a trans person, my visibility is really important.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding and fear about trans folk at the moment - so we need to keep the conversation going, with openness, awareness and listening on all sides to find some common ground and come together.

I guess our common ground is the football pitch; regardless of background or identity, we all love football and it can be such a diverse and accepting place.

There are LGBTQ+ teams & Pan Disability leagues, we have a Downs Syndrome team here at Lincoln City. I’m currently training to be a coach and a referee to give something back to this community that has given me so much and walking football has truly reignited my spark!

One of the best women’s walking football teams in the area started competing in the men’s league. There was an incident where one of the men made an unacceptable comment towards one of the women on the team but he was quickly shut down by the ref and his team mates. That kind of allyship doesn’t go unnoticed, and shows things are definitely changing.