Director of women's and girls' football Adrian Goodwin wants AFC Sudbury to be at the top of the female football league in Suffolk

Adrian Goodwin is hell-bent on recreating his success at Capel Plough and propelling AFC Sudbury to the top of the female football league in Suffolk.

The 56-year-old was head hunted, by academy chief Danny Laws, to be the Yellows’ first director of women’s & girls’ football as part of a big revamp of an area that was identified as in need of major changes.

Although the club’s first team – who have had the ‘Ladies’ part of their name dropped to bring them in line with the men’s team – currently play at a level (fifth tier) second only to Ipswich Town Women in the county, there is only one girls’ age group team existing below them, at under-14s.

Goodwin, whose position will be as a volunteer outside of his day-time job, has revealed he has big plans to provide a proper pathway for female players to progress right through the club, to properly harness the talent in the surrounding area.

“My remit is to try and put in place a similar thing at AFC Sudbury to what I have done at Capel.

“I want a girls’ team in every age group that the Suffolk Girls & Women’s League run, so under-10s to under-16s.

“Putting all that in place will not be an easy task, but the board have agreed changes to help the women’s side and it proves AFC Sudbury are very serious about how we treat female football.”

Goodwin – who will continue to manage his Capel Plough Under-14s side, where his daughter plays, alongside the new role – is currently working on a club charter to bind the female section together and has brought in former Ipswich Town academy player Luke Mallet to do some coaching with existing sides.

As with the male section, the full-time academy at King’s Marsh will be a key cornerstone in developing players going forward. The club will have its first full-time female students (currently two part-time) from September with 12 already signed up and an AFC Sudbury Girls Academy side have been accepted into the AoC Sport Women’s Premier U19 Academy League.

Meanwhile, Katie Burrows’ AFC Sudbury side booked their place in the semi-finals of the HomeStore Self Storage Suffolk Women’s Cup with a 6-0 win at Coplestonians on Sunday. Emma Squirrell and Mia Etheridge both netted twice while Olivia Gunn and debutante Ellie Mitchell were also on target.

It provides a much-needed confidence boost for the relegation-threatened Eastern Region Women’s League Premier Division side, who had gone into the game following a month break on the back of seven straight defeats.

The second bottom side are next in action at Haringey Borough on March 3.