COGs do Crawley Town proud at Wembley
More than 20 Crawley Old Girls descended on Power League Wembley to participate in the first ever national women’s tournament for over-30s on Sunday.
Organised and delivered by the EEFL Trust, the competition brought together eight teams of ladies, all with limited experience, to participate in a tournament. Crawley COGS 1 took their place in Group One alongside AFC Wimbledon 1, Dagenham and Redbridge and Coventry City, whilst Crawley COGS 2 were placed in a group alongside Swindon Town, AFC Wimbledon 2 and Brentford.
Both teams produced some excellent football, culminating in both COGS teams securing their first ever competitive victories with 4-1 and 3-1 wins against Dagenham and Redbridge. The day was concluded with a COGS 1 vs COGS 2 final which the latter won 3-2 after an amazing effort by both teams.
The day was a fantastic success and was testament to how far older ladies football has come over the past year. Amy Fazackerley, Girls Football Co-Ordinator at Crawley Town Community Foundation said: “After the success of COGS to date, it was an amazing experience to see so many ladies participating in the first ever over 30’s national tournament.
“The COGS group really have inspired a generation, many of whom had never kicked a football before, to be regularly active and enjoy being part of the beautiful game. It was a fantastic day and is hopefully just the start of more regular competition.”
Carol Bates, one of the founder members of COGS, added: “It was fantastic to see so many over 30s ladies take part in the first ever tournament of its kind, nationally. After starting with 10 ladies at our first COGS session it was incredible to think that this had led to teams from other EFL Clubs coming together and enjoying football.
“Many friendships were made on the day as this was about having fun too with ladies who just want to have the opportunity to play football at a later age. The EFL Trust & Crawley Town Community Foundation have been instrumental in helping raise the profile of our great and inspiring group of ladies and we can't thank them enough for their support.
"This event will be remembered for a very long time and we looking forward to more EFL Clubs attending next year.”
