16/08/2026
The amazing Sarah Aitchison our Her Game Too Ambassador has posted this today! Totally and utterly amazing! What a legend!
Some Sutton fans with long memories will recall the little fundraising exercise I took it upon myself to complete in the 2010-11 season. Looking to raise a few quid for the community pavilion we’d already been talking about for a few years by that point, I decided to do a sponsored bike ride to not one, but every first team away league match that season. And the response was fantastic: the fanbase really got behind me and together we raised over £4,000.
People teased me about it for years afterwards, especially whenever we got promoted into leagues with longer away trips. “Are you going to cycle to Barrow?” and so on. People still occasionally ask me if I’m ever going to do it again, but I’ve always said no. I don’t have the time; I have too many other commitments; I’ve already done it once, why do it again?
No, it wasn’t happening.
Until now.
Because I feel really strongly that everyone should have equal opportunities to succeed in sports, and feeling strongly about things tends to spur me into action.
Women’s football at this level remains challenging financially. Sutton United supports its women’s section by covering essential costs such as training facilities, match pitches and basic equipment, but the financial landscape across the women’s game is far from level and we simply don’t have access to the more sophisticated resources that gives a significant advantage to the bigger clubs we have to compete with. Some clubs at this level benefit from substantial backing through Premier League or EFL organisations, giving them access to resources and infrastructure that independent clubs simply cannot match.
Sutton United Women have also faced the challenge of playing home fixtures at several different venues due to restrictions on the number of matches that can be played at Gander Green Lane. Some of these are outside Sutton and difficult for many supporters to reach. This has made establishing a regular fanbase and generating consistent matchday income extremely difficult, despite some fantastic football being played on the pitch.
This fundraiser is not about covering the basic costs of running the team. It is about helping Sutton United Women take the next step: becoming more professional, improving the environment around the players and providing the additional equipment, support and resources they need to be successful.
The money raised could help improve areas such as player preparation, performance analysis, recovery, nutrition, travel and matchday support. These are the details that can make a significant difference over the course of a season.
Success for our women’s section means success for our football club. In the current position, even a relatively small amount of money can make an enormous difference.
With this in mind, I’m committing to getting back on my bike and riding to every women’s first team league away match this season, if those of you who are able would be generous enough to sponsor me. Any money we can raise for OUR club would be a significant boost for the success of our women’s section and raising the profile of this club within women’s football.
You can support this by:
- Making a one-off donation at gofund.me/6a63b6f5e
-Sponsoring me a set amount for every match completed – email me at [email protected] to set this up
- Pledging an amount for every kilometre cycled – as above, pledges can be sent in by email. If you pledge 5p per kilometre, this gives a total donation of roughly £26.30 (with the proviso that this can change in either direction due to route adjustments!)
No contribution is too small, and donations can be made at any point between now and the end of the season.
Every penny raised will help us give the players the professional environment, resources and support they need to compete, develop and succeed.
This is our club, our women’s section and our opportunity to make a genuine difference.
Please donate if you can and please spread the word as widely as possible – even if you can’t donate, sharing will make a huge difference.
Thank you for reading!
