Aston Villa believe that every person who engages with the Club has a right to be treated fairly, with dignity and respect, irrespective of their personal characteristics.
Through the Club’s All In initiative, we are committed to avoiding and eliminating discrimination of any kind including sexism and misogyny. We are therefore proud to support Villa Bellas, Aston Villa’s official women’s supporters' network.
We offically launched our support at Villa Women's season-ending Second City Derby against Birmingham City at Villa Park last weekend.
The game itself provided the perfect platform to round off a season of progress under Carla Ward, and one that reflected the positive backing the Club have provided the women's team with over the past three years.
In an unequal and often unrelenting world, Villa Bellas will work to break down barriers for equality.
Founder of Villa Bellas, Sarah Breslin, says of the group:
“In creating the women’s network, we can challenge sexism and misogyny for the fans in the stands and the women on the pitch. We support inclusion and diversity and aim to raise the voice of women and non-binary people at the Club. Let's celebrate ourselves and champion each other whilst having fun doing it.”
The Club are also delighted to announce their official support of Her Game Too, which aims to raise awareness of sexist abuse within the realms of football.
Her Game Too was founded by 12 passionate female football fans who are committed to growing the campaign with the aim of fostering an ethos in football in which women are welcomed and respected equally.
The non-profit organisation aims to create awareness, educate, research, develop a strong sense of community and create strong relationships with clubs, among much more.
Further aims include creating regular content to champion women in football (players, staff and fans), creating strong relationships with the Aston Villa Foundation to drive education in the community, having a presence at football grounds and sports bars to build a more welcoming environment for young girls and women as well as continuing to campaign against sexism in football and online abuse.
Co-founder of Her Game Too, Lucy Ford, said:
"We are delighted to be partnered up with Aston Villa Football Club and we are equally as excited about the launch of Villa Bellas, a women's supporters network for female Aston Villa fans. The work Aston Villa are doing within the community is great and we thank them for the support."
Earlier this year, Sarah Breslin featured in a special International Women’s Day video along with first-team players Anita Asante, Jill Scott and Rachel Corsie, walking football participant Angela Sharp and HR Interns Raynu Sandal and Baneet Shergill.
As part of Aston Villa’s continued priority to increase the visibility and representation of women across the workforce, the club launched three pledges in support of Women in Football’s Get Onside campaign.
The Club showed its backing for the campaign when it launched in September, encouraging the industry to be on the side of change when it comes to gender equality in football.
We pledged to shine a light on the amazing women currently working at the club and Foundation.
The first of those taking part in the positive initiative to discuss their roles and experiences of working at the club were Angela Lewis and Kerri Welsh. The third in the ongoing series featured Foundation Project Manager Debbi Rawson.
Please follow Villa Bellas via @VillaBellas
For more information on Her Game Too, please visit www.hergametoo.co.uk or follow via @HerGameToo
For more information on Women in Football, please visit www.womeninfootball.co.uk or follow via @WomeninFootball