The Quedam Shopping Centre is one of the most successful shopping centres in the South West. The Centre is open in design and has more than 40 shops, with the main retailers being names like M&S, Bhs, Monsoon, Iceland and Boots.

Like Yeovil Town Ladies FC, the Quedam Centre makes a national impact above what it should if judged in terms of resources available to it and this is one of the main reasons why Centre shares such close ties with both the Ladies team and Yeovil Town Football Club generally. At the present time, as well as being the main sponsors of the Ladies team, the Centre also partners YTFC in a number of areas, including being the clubs official sponsor regarding the ‘Kick Racism Out’ and ‘Give Racism the Red Card’ campaigns.

The Quedam Centre is an integral part of the community of Yeovil and aside from its alliance with Yeovil Town Football Club, it also backs, works with or part sponsors over a dozen local organisations, including the Yeovil Vision, Yeovil Chamber of Trade, Yeovil Town Centre Partnership, Yeovil Jets Basketball team, Yeovil Olympiads, Yeovil Shopmobility & Ivel Barbarians RFC.

Championship football team built on a budget

It is incredible to think that last season, with an operating budget of less than £10,000, Yeovil Town Ladies Football Club not only won promotion to the equivalent of Championship level in men’s football, but also managed to operate 7 other teams, including 6 great youth teams.

Whilst you cannot compare the money available in men’s and women’s football for obvious reasons, that Yeovil has achieved so much with so little is amazing. To put the operating budget into perspective £10,000 was what top flight women’s team Doncaster Rovers Belles were asking for their back of the tracksuit sponsor for the 2009/10 season!

So how has this success on a relative shoestring been achieved and what does the future hold in store?

The key to Yeovil’s success has been a complex formula made up in various proportions by a great coaching staff (lead by Manager Steve Phelps), great players in all seven teams, a small army of dedicated volunteers and strong support from the main Yeovil Town FC club and the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust, of which the Ladies team form part.

So how can it be that a team with such limited financial resources is looking to make a big impact in the Tesco Premier League, Southern Division when it will line up against some much better financed clubs? The answer is simple, Yeovil Town Ladies FC have an asset no money can buy - fantastic team spirit.

Of course it does not matter if you have a great club if no one knows that and so aside from excellent relations with the local media, particularly the Western Gazette and Midwest Radio, 2009 saw the advent of this web site, created and run by Ali King. Not only has this site had an incredible amount of hits (around 5,000 per day on average) but it also must be one of the top 20 stand alone women’s football club websites in the country. All this was done, thanks to Ali’s giving his time free, for under £100!

Having said all this, once you have great team spirit, extra funding can be the finishing touch which helps transform a great season into an exceptional one, so if you think you can help our club, check out the sponsorship opportunities leaflet in the About us section of this web site.

I hope that whether you are a fan, or potential sponsor, you will support our club in the 2010/11 season

David Mills
Chairman, Yeovil Town Ladies Football Club