BRACEWELL RELISHING INAUGURAL TURF OUTING

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Claret Women’s captain can’t wait to play on home Turf

2023-04-27T14:15:00.000Z

BRACEWELL RELISHING INAUGURAL TURF OUTING

Claret Women’s captain can’t wait to play on home Turf

2023-04-27T14:15:00.000Z

Claret Women’s captain can’t wait to play on home Turf

Lauren Bracewell says that Sunday’s game against Liverpool Feds at Turf Moor is one that’s been a long time coming and one she can’t wait for to showcase how far the women’s game has come.

Captain of the women’s team, Bracewell is a born and bred Claret, a season ticket holder at Turf Moor for as long as she can remember.

One of the key figures in the side for a number of years, and part of the team to win back-to-back promotions in 2017/18 & 2018/19, she’s now looking forward to another landmark moment this weekend.

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“I think it’s been coming for a long time, especially since Alan [Pace, Chairman] and ALK have come in alongside Lola [Ogunbote, Head of Women’s Football]. They’ve really been pushing us on behind the scenes, and pushing for us to get a game at Turf Moor.

“I think the community have been calling for a game closer to home as well with our normal home ground being in Leyland, and there’s nothing closer to home than Turf Moor. It’s just going to be a fantastic occasion for all involved.

“We’ve sold over 2,500 tickets now, and hopefully that figure will be higher come Sunday, but even if it wasn’t to be then 2,500 is fantastic. It’s the first time for us playing at Turf Moor, but we’re all hoping it won’t be the last because at the end of the day, we just want to grow our fanbase as much as possible.”

Across numerous stints, the goalkeeper has seen first-hand the development of the women’s operations both on and off field.

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From not being connected to the club, to being linked with Burnley FC in the Community, and then in February 2021 coming under the football club’s control, Bracewell has seen it all.

She paid tribute to those behind the scenes making things tick, and wanted to thank them on behalf of the squad.

“Being able to come into the training ground, us having our own training spot permanently, having new coaches and analysts, all of these little things help to give us those extra percentages that people talk about so often in the game.

“All the people behind the scenes do for us is focus more on what they can add to the operation to help us, and they want to know what we think would help us as players and as a group.

“For the people that really matter to have such an interest in us and what we’re doing is brilliant, they’re coming down to the games, training sessions, and they’re really involved. The players all see that, and it does make you want to work even harder for the club than you already do.”

Last summer, ahead of the start of this campaign, Bracewell and the women’s squad were invited down to watch one of the games at the EUROs, which England went on to win, by club partners TikTok.

The shot stopper discussed just how far the women’s game has grown since she was a youngster, alluding to the last few years as a crucial period in particular.

“I’ve been involved in football for a long time, and when I was younger, women’s teams really didn’t get any of this. Now, you could go to a women’s game every single weekend if you wanted to.

“We didn’t have that same opportunity, but women’s teams now – as we’re doing this weekend – are getting to play at some fantastic stadia and they’re also playing some fantastic football.

“The Lionesses are just going from strength to strength, which is really helping to put us on a platform to the rest of the world. It’s showing the younger generation now just how far that you can go in women’s football, and that’s a driving factor for us as a group to want to do as well as we can.

“This weekend, we want to put on a good show at Turf for the fans, and we’ll need to if we’re to beat a well-prepared Liverpool Feds side.”