With the continued growth of women’s football, Whakatāne Football Club has embraced a new Under-15 girls’ league in an effort to keep pace with increasing demand.

The U15 Girls’ League was introduced this year, giving young female players the opportunity to play under a club structure.

Historically, many players represented their secondary schools before progressing directly into local women’s teams.

While this pathway has been successful for some, many players have been considered too young to make the jump into senior women’s football, creating the need for an intermediate age-group competition.

Despite the league still being in its infancy, Whakatāne Football Club has already seen it as a major boost for the women’s game.

U15 coach Gavin Rothwell is pleased with the direction the new competition is taking.

“It’s been great bringing the girls back together and allowing us to demonstrate the strength we have as a smaller region,” he said.

“They all used to play together as juniors, but until this year they only battled each other while representing their respective high schools.

“The new format has been a huge success since we launched it in February.

“We very quickly had more than enough players to field a team, which, unfortunately, meant we had to turn girls away as word spread throughout the season,” said Rothwell.

The new U15 side has performed well in its inaugural season and sits second on the competition ladder, just one point behind the leaders.

Last Sunday, the team faced Northern Hamilton in a top-of-the-table clash, with Whakatāne having the opportunity to move into first place.

“Unfortunately, missed opportunities proved costly, resulting in a 2-2 draw.

“The final game of the season could provide a grand finale for Whakatāne, with a potential rematch against Northern Hamilton likely to decide the championship,” said Rothwell.