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High hopes for Huntly FC’s new women’s team ahead of debut season in Scottish Women’s Football

Huntly FC Women at Christie Park. Image: Huntly FC/George Mackie.
Huntly FC Women at Christie Park. Image: Huntly FC/George Mackie.

Huntly chairman Gordon Carter is delighted to see the club’s aim of launching a women’s team coming to fruition.

From this month, the Black and Golds have their first-ever women’s players officially registered to the club, ahead of the competitive season which will begin in March 2023.

The idea to launch a women’s team started with men’s Highland League team manager Allan Hale, who expressed his ambitious plans when he was appointed in 2020.

“The football club was going through a difficult time and we needed to go in a different direction,” Carter explained.

“So, I appointed a young manager in Allan Hale.

Huntly FC manager Allan Hale. Image: Kenny Elrick/DCT Media.

“He had a very clear vision of how we could rebuild the club and become more involved in the community with youth teams, amateurs and a women’s team.

“Allan wanted Huntly to have a women’s team, but starting a new team isn’t easy – you require coaches, PVG certificates and volunteers, who can be difficult to find.”

Ideas for Huntly Women turn into action

Carter and Hale started to turn ideas into action once the men’s team had found some stability, as they figured out the logistics of how the women’s team would be run.

The Huntly chairman has said that “grants, sponsorship and fundraising” will be how they will generate revenue for the new women’s team.

As for appointing a manager, the Huntly duo met with Raymond Henderson, the then Aberdeen Ladies U18s coach, and after several meetings he took on the role.

“We all thought it was the perfect opportunity because Raymond is someone who has been involved in girls’ and women’s football,” Carter said. “He knows how it is.

“He has contacts with players and has people around him who know the finances and admin stuff for the women’s leagues – so we weren’t having to start from scratch.

“Me and Allan met with Raymond, and he came in with a wonderful presentation that just blew us out the water – it was obvious that we all had the same passion for it.

“The reality was it was going to be a lot of work but Raymond and Doug Graham were willing to put in the work, so we were delighted to take it from there.”

Taking the club in the right direction

For Henderson, moving into women’s senior football and Huntly’s ambitious plans meant the managerial post was too good an opportunity to turn down.

He’s put together a coaching staff team that includes Doug Graham – who he worked with at Aberdeen Ladies – Craig Flockhart and Derek Taylor (goalkeeping coach).

The women’s team will start training together ahead of their league bow in SWF’s fifth-tier – which is the lowest level in Scotland – in March 2023.

It’s where they must start – but Henderson has bigger plans for Huntly Women.

Huntly FC Women’s squad, coaching staff and club chairman. Image: Huntly FC/George Mackie

“It was Gordon who sold joining the club to me,” Henderson said. “If he hadn’t been so supportive, then would I have made the jump?

“I’m not so sure I would’ve done – but I’m glad I did it and I’m excited to get started.

“I’m quite hopeful with the women’s team that we can start to move up the leagues and play as high up as possible. I don’t want to be in the bottom league forever.

“I want to take the team up the way and the club want to do the exact same thing.

“There’s a massive catchment area of girls in and around Huntly that don’t really have the opportunity to play senior football locally.

“We can tap into that potential and see what we can do because the ultimate aim for the club is to create a full player pathway in years to come.

“We’re starting with the women’s team – so there will already be something to aim for  – and then build down the way with the youth teams.”

Embracing being part of the Huntly community

Carter believes it’s vital the women’s team feel part of the club and the community – and not just a team who show up to Huntly for 90 minutes every other weekend.

Henderson and his players have already started to embrace that by attending men’s games at Christie Park, while the manager will attend a club dinner later this month.

“It’s important that the women’s team have an identity in Huntly,” Carter said. “They’ll play their home games at Christie Park as much as they can.

We want the Women’s team to have an identity in this community, and we want there to be that community engagement at games, fundraising events – whatever it might be.”

“We were all keen for the team to have a strong association with the town, so training will be here – as much as we can get the facilities through the winter.

“The women’s players will be seen in the town – training and playing matches – so we will genuinely have a Huntly team, who are not just bussed in and out for games.

“We want the team to have an identity in this community, and we want there to be that community engagement at games, fundraising events – whatever it might be.”

It’s a sentiment that is echoed by Henderson, who has already made clear to his players about what it will mean to play for the Black and Golds.

Huntly FC’s Christie Park. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson.

“We’ve taken the players up to Christie Park watch a game and to see where they’ll be playing,” Henderson said. “That was an important factor for me.

“You can play off an astroturf anywhere so playing games at a stadium like Christie Park just adds something extra. It can help attract players to the club as well.

“When we went to watch the men play, the locals were all really good with us. We went along to the family day and kids were asking our players for autographs.

“I’ve said to the players, ‘the community in Huntly will get behind you’ – which is the main aim. Hopefully they’ll come out and watch us play some good football.”

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