Tower Hamlets Senior Football Development Officer Derek Bennett has announced that KIKK United FC will play their home games at Mile End Stadium.
The council’s commitment to, and commendable support for, women’s football is apparent in this initiative and it is accompanied by a refurbishment of the facilities at Mile End. KIKK’s presence, the council believe, will serve to further stimulate the development of the women’s game in the borough, alongside the existence of both Tower Hamlets WFC and East London LFC.
KIKK go into the new season with a record of two championships and a runners-up slot in the last three years, so with this success and the team’s attractive, incisive quick passing style, the hope is that female players in the borough will have another arena in which to play football at a good level, as well as providing the community with the opportunity to watch high level women’s football.
The summer of 2011 has already seen a Tower Hamlets U-14 girls side win the UK final of the prestigious MTG United for Peace tournament and they will now travel to Oslo in Norway to compete for the Cup itself, so prospects for the female game in the borough are bright.
KIKK coach, Chris Brayford, expressed his and the team’s gratitude for the support they had received, in particular from Derek and Tower Hamlets’ Head of Sport & Physical Activity, Lisa Pottinger as well as Greenwich Leisure Ltd, who manage the facility on behalf of the Council, as their assistance had been essential in making the idea reality. “I hope of course that we’ll go some way to repay them by bringing back a trophy this season!”
KIKK start their new season in the London & South East Regional League (LSERL) on Sunday 11 September with an away fixture and on Sunday 2 October at 2pm, the team will play the Hertfordshire side, Leverstock Green at Mile End Stadium in the 1st qualifying round of the FA Women’s Cup.
The next step up for KIKK from the LSERL would be the South East Combination. With this support, both from Tower Hamlets council and a local business, the team’s kit sponsor Fika (the Swedish bar and restaurant on Brick Lane), the team hope to continue to rapidly ascend the women’s football pyramid.
