Grassroots football club Coldstream scores new training gear thanks to Premier League star and ScottishPower.
Coldstream Juniors has scored vital new equipment for its youth players after being nominated for a prize giveaway from SWPL Principal Partner ScottishPower by Hibs star Joelle Murray.
The leading renewable energy company became the exclusive Principal Partner for Scottish Women’s Football and the Scottish Women’s Premier League at the start of last season and is dedicated to supporting the women’s game from grassroots to elite.
To celebrate its partnership, the firm is providing 6 x kit packages to grassroots clubs featuring bibs, cones, water bottles and Puma footballs (sized for U14s). It asked the captains of each of the top 6 SWPL sides to nominate a community club they value for their work to further developing girls’ youth football.
Former internationalist Joelle Murray, who played over 500 times for Hibs and is now part of the coaching staff, nominated Coldstream Juniors, who’s coach Kevin Patterson received the new equipment supported by ScottishPower’s Jonathan Brady.
She said: “Coldstream Juniors is the grassroots club I started my journey at and it’s important to be able to help give something back to the local club and community.
“Back then there definitely were financial challenges. Players had to fork out for their own equipment and anything else they needed to perform at their best.
Kevin Patterson added: “Everyone at Coldstream Juniors was absolutely delighted to find out that Joelle had nominated us to receive these kits.
“The support from ScottishPower, and other local family-run businesses, is absolutely crucial to the sustainability a club of our size and really does enable us as coaches to continue to deliver football coaching to children on a weekly basis.”
The kit giveaway comes as ScottishPower works closely with both SWF and the SWPL to invest in supporting the continued growth of the women’s game.
Keith Anderson, Chief Executive of ScottishPower, said: “We want to energise women’s football for both current and future generations and build a community of players that inspire even more people to play and enjoy the game.
“That means working with our partners at SWF and the SWPL to help clubs and players overcome barriers to their growth and operation.
“By providing training kit and asking those players at the top of the game to nominate a community club to receive it, we’re making sure that everyone can benefit from this partnership, whether at the elite end of the game or those all-essential grassroots.”
ScottishPower is at the heart of communities across the country, whether it’s through the thousands of green jobs being created, the renewable power it generates or the secure, stable electricity it supplies - keeping the lights on from power to plug.
It is also a major employer in Scotland with a key focus on encouraging more women to consider STEM careers.
ScottishPower’s partnership joins parent company, Iberdrola, which has been promoting equality through sport since 2016, through competitions and federations in Spain and Brazil.
It supports more than 100 competitions, 32 of them as Iberdrola leagues, reaching an estimated 600,000 female athletes.
