Bristol Rovers Women’s FC, now known as the Gas Girls, will play at the Memorial Stadium for the first time in more than 20 years and take to the field directly after the men’s team’s league fixture against Forest Green Rovers on April 23.
The Gas Girls, who last month secured the South West Regional League Northern Division title, have been playing their home fixtures at Lockleaze Sports Centre but will follow Joey Barton’s Gas side in what is likely to be a key fixture in determining the League Two promotion race.
That game will also be the club’s dedicated #HerGameToo fixture, with Rovers fans Caz May and Lucy Ford among the founder members of the organisation which fights sexism in football.
Since re-forming in 2019 with the previous women’s team disbanded in 2005 having played at the Mem in 2001, Nathan Hallett-Young’s Gas Girls side have secured back-to-back promotions and will be competing in the fourth tier of women’s football next season.
They were crowned champions last month and have won 14 of a possible 16 league games this season, scoring 77 goals in the process as they make their way up the pyramid.
“At the start of the season, the aim was to be competitive and to see where we were, but when we won 10 games in a row we thought we were on to something,” secretary and founder Matt Davies tells Bristol Live.
“The girls have taken the challenge really well. The standard is noticeably better form the previous league, but with our recruitment strategy and the work everyone has put in we managed to get over the line.
“We’re delighted to go back-to-back and we’re expecting a bigger challenge next season in the South West Premier Division, which is tier five. We’re aiming for the Women’s National League, which is tier three and tier four.”
Crucial to the Gas girls success has been retaining largely the same squad that earned promotion from the Gloucestershire County League, with the addition of striker Laura Curnock who scored 10 goals in five games, and the elevation of talent from the development squad, such as Layah Douglas.
“My first season with the Gas Girls has been nothing short of exciting,” Curnock said. “I’ve enjoyed pushing my limits in a new competitive environment with this group of very talented players and coaches.
“I know I am in the right place to take my game to the next level and I can’t wait to hit the ground running next season. It’s a very rewarding feeling knowing that I am a part of a club that is so inspiring both on and off the pitch. I'm really excited for the future."
The Gas Girls are also making an impact off the field, with community schemes in tandem with the Rovers Community Trust offering football sessions around the city, a BTEC programme and partnerships with Bristol Pride and #HerGameToo.
“We work in four quarters that binds the Gas Girls together: community, education, participation and performance,” Davies added.
“The work we do in the community is massive and I think the fans really do appreciate the work the girls do.
“It’s important to remember that the girls are paying to play, they aren’t paid by us. They buy into what we’re about and we’ve got an army of volunteers to help out with community trust projects and they love doing it.
“They’re not expected to do it but when we ask for volunteers, there is always someone willing to do something and it is important that continues to grow.”
