A GIRLS football team is proudly sporting a new training kit thanks to a donation from a car rental company.
Select Car Leasing provided players at Barton Rovers FC, Tilehurst with shirts, hoodies and rain jackets as part of a £300 sponsorship.
The club is one of the largest youth sides in Reading and has 400 registered members participating in 23 different teams, from under 7s through to the senior sides.
David Rosier, the team’s kit administrator, expressed the club’s commitment to providing coaching and competitive games for girls and young women.
He said: “The money from Select Car Leasing has helped to provide training kits for the girls and to also give them a sense of identity and connection to their male counterparts.
“Ultimately, it’s about helping the girls to develop so that they go on to form a team and join a competitive league.”
“And as with all of the teams at Barton, the emphasis here is on playing and enjoyment. We don’t actively seek the best-of-the-best to create a powerhouse, instead we include all abilities and encourage playing and enjoyment of the game.”
“On behalf of everyone at Barton Rovers Football Club, and the girls, we thank Select Car Leasing for its support.”
David added that camaraderie, building friendships and forging team spirit were all part of the process of putting smiles on their youngsters’ faces.
Select Car Leasing is Reading Football Club’s principal partner and has enjoyed a long history of supporting grassroots football.
It donated dozens of items of free kit to youth sides across the Thames Valley region, also pledging more than £4,000 to provide young people with healthy meals during school holidays with Reading FC Community Trust.
Graham Conway, managing director at Select Car Leasing, said: “Football brings a lot of joy to a great many people here at Select, so it’s only right we do our bit to support grassroots football.
“We’re proud to be able to help Barton Rovers Football Club with the sponsorship and we wish the girls all the very best for the remainder of the season and beyond.”
Barton Rovers FC was formed in 1982 by a group of parents whose children wanted to play football but didn’t have the opportunity to do so locally.
The club takes its name from nearby Barton Road, where some of the founding parents lived.
