A girls’ football team has won a boys’ league after going unbeaten all season, earning them the “invincibles” title.
Queens Park Ladies under-12s finished top of division three of the Bournemouth Youth Football League with 18 wins, four draws and no defeats.
They dominated the 11 other boys’ teams in the league, scoring 61 goals and conceding only 11.
By the time they had played all their matches, they had amassed 58 points, 16 more than the second-placed team, which had two games still to play.
Initially, they were met with resistance from county FA bosses, who had told them they would have to play in an all-girls’ competition.
However, the team’s manager, Toby Green, was convinced the team was good enough to play in the league.
Speaking to Sky News, Green said the girls “deserve [the win]” because they had worked hard all season, in matches and during training. “The girls have done really, really well. They’ve worked so hard all season, not just in the games, but in their training as well.
“They have been really disciplined ... they deserve it.”
They topped the league away against Moordown and Southbourne last month, but earned the “invincibles” title last weekend with a 3-0 win against Lymington Town.
Green said securing the league title with a 3-0 away win against a team that had won six games in a row was one of the highlights of the season. “We’ve really had to dig in, particularly away from home,” he said.
Four of the girls in the 14-strong squad have been playing together since they were five years old.
Green started the team when his daughter Olivia said she wanted to play football. He had already coached his older daughter as the only girl in a boys’ team and decided to put together a girls’ side. However, he wanted them to play in the boys’ league.
Queens Park Ladies under-12s, who train twice a week, will be promoted to the under-13s second division. Green said he hopes the girls’ success will inspire more young girls to take up football.
