Former Everton player and Exeter City coach Tommy Wheeldon is heading up the new team in charge of Exeter City Ladies for upcoming season.
Falmouth Town and then coached for Exeter City and Swindon Town. Wheeldon, who is a highly experienced and well-respected UEFA A licence coach, played professional football for Everton for three years in the late 1970s and then joined Torquay United before playing for Saltash United and
Wheeldon, said: “This is a fantastic project to get involved with and we want to spark off girls and women’s football in the area. We watched the Women’s World Cup out in Canada last year and thought that the English team were fantastic so we have come back into the area and knowing Julian Tagg and Jamie Vittles we want to get involved in the Exeter City Ladies Football Club.
“This is a great project for all girls to become involved not just because of what we can achieve in the short term but also in the long term because we have great contacts in the USA and Canada.”
He added: “We want energetic girls who really want to play at the highest possible level and we are happy to help them to achieve this by starting with Exeter City Ladies. We know that it is going to take two to three years, but we want to make a start and create a culture of girls football locally where as well as being successful on the field they enjoy themselves socially and feel part of the club.”
Wheeldon will be joined by Chris Heayns, who is well-known in local footballing circles and has masterminded the successful development of girls football at King’s College, and Maxine Coupe who has enjoyed a long playing career as a goalkeeper with Exeter City Ladies.
Exeter City chairman Julian Tagg, said: “This is an exciting new development and the Exeter City board are totally supportive of the new management team that has been put in place and will do all they can to help to ensure that Exeter City Ladies are successful both this season and into the future.”
In order to support the continued development Tagg is also the chairman of a newly formed group which looks to address all aspects of female football, across all age groups and abilities in the greater Exeter area.
“The board is delighted to be able offer the ladies the use of the facilities at the Clifford Hill Training Ground for their training sessions and pre-season home matches, and providing the dates fit, we would like to invite the team to use St James Park for their cup games.”
The new chairman of the Exeter City Ladies is Terry Schofield, a great supporter of football at all levels across the south west.
He said: “I am really delighted to be appointed as the new chairman of Exeter City Ladies Football Club.
“I think that the club has huge potential and will offer a lot of opportunities to girls playing football right across the south west and with the new team that we have in charge I think that the future is really bright.”
.”info@mjm-sports.co.ukTerry added: “We do have a new sponsor for the home shirt which will be announced soon but anyone expressing an interest in sponsoring the club in anyway should contact me by email
Training is on Tuesday evening between 7pm and 8.30pm at the Clifford Hill Training Ground.
Exeter City Ladies first game in FA WAPL Division One South West is on August 21 when they travel to face St Nicholas in Bristol.
Anyone who would like to find out more about playing for Exeter City Ladies FC should contact Chris Heayns .cjheayns@kings-taunton.co.uk