Bury St Edmunds referee Emily Heaslip was in charge of the 2023 Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley

With the Fifa Women’s World Cup on the horizon, here’s why I think it is the perfect time for women and girls in Suffolk to embrace women’s football, if they haven’t already done so.

Earlier this month referee Emily Heaslip from Bury St Edmunds made her mark, proudly stepping up to the centre spot to officiate a world-record breaking Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley.

A total of 77,390 football fans watched Chelsea beat their Women’s Super League rivals Manchester United, and I was lucky enough to be one of them.

The vibrant crowd was the world’s largest for a women’s domestic match, and ahead of the game Heaslip said it would be a ‘historic final’, one that she was ‘excited to be involved in’.

And excitement seems to be the buzz word for women’s football in the UK at the moment, with Suffolk being no exception.

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The England Women’s victory in the Euros last summer is continuing to have a positive impact on girls and women’s football, from grassroots to the Super League.

In Suffolk there have been celebrations for Needham Market Women’s FC, Stowupland Falcons Women’s team and Bury Town’s under 13s girls.

The Ipswich Town Women’s team had a strong end to their season in the Southern Premier Division, only narrowly missing out on the title.

All this success is tempting girls, and slightly more mature players like me into trying football for the first time, or in some cases the first time in a long time.

New women’s and girl’s teams are popping up in Suffolk and across the border in Norfolk, nothing wrong with a bit of local rivalry of course.

Younger girls in Suffolk can also try mixed training sessions – with football increasingly becoming more inclusive.

The inclusivity of the women’s game was definitely something that struck me at the Women’s FA Cup final.

It was a proper family occasion, I saw numerous football shirts with ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ on the back.

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Mums and daughters, brothers and sisters, there was certainly a big mix of ages and genders in the crowd.

Groups of girls and boys enjoyed having their photos taken in front of the iconic stadium – proudly waving flags for their teams.

Even my football team couldn’t resist a group photo.

On the pitch Emily Heaslip had to deal with a fair bit of agro between Chelsea and Manchester United.

However in the stands the atmosphere was frankly so much more relaxed and welcoming than anything I have ever experienced at a men’s match.

Everyone, whatever team they did or didn’t support, seemed to really enjoy their cup final experience and though there was healthy rivalry, it all seemed good natured.

As a neutral I was desperate to see a bit of extra time to continue soaking up the atmosphere. and fan-girling over Mary Earps (England and Man U goalie) and Emma Hayes (the formidable Chelsea manager).

Hopefully that feeling of wanting more will carry on for football in Suffolk and further afield, after the Women’s World Cup which starts in July.

In the run up to the tournament I would love to hear your stories from women’s and girls football in Suffolk.

Please get in touch about inspiring players and coaches and also the challenges the sport faces at grassroots.