Former West Brom and Cheltenham player Abby Bevan claims “it’s hard” with different factors within women’s football; however, some factors have helped her in her career.
“It’s hard because you’re in the league now where we have to travel far, if I finish work late, I will travel and train for two hours to then travel back. I don’t get back until, sometimes, quarter to 12, it’s that commitment that if you’re not getting paid, it’s difficult.”
Talking about her time at Boldmere, Bevan expressed that she simply couldn’t afford to play football anymore.
“I needed some fuel money because I couldn’t afford it, I literally couldn’t afford it anymore, and I asked what’s going to happen to help? and then they turned around and said no, so I decided to leave.
“I was like, that’s fine, I’ll just leave, I just won’t play. And then that’s when I had a few clubs come in, and then my agent or my partner, he likes to call himself an agent, contacted the manager and said Abby’s available, and that’s how the move to Sutton Coldfield came about.”
She played for The Mikes during the 2023/24 season, a season which would prove a successful one for the club.
Boldmere finished fourth behind Sporting Khalsa, who would go on to win promotion, along with Loughborough and Peterborough, who are also chasing promotion again this season.
“I loved it. However, the people in the background dictate what happens there, and that’s why certain aspects didn’t fall into place.
“Playing-wise loved Boldmere, we were winning in the league, we’d just beaten Loughborough, we’d just beaten Peterborough, we were on a run, and then we get called to training and get told your whole management team, every single one’s been sacked.”
With a wealth of experience during her playing career so far, it was tough in youth football for Bevan however, it “helped” her become a better player.
“So I started playing when I was eight years old, and it was for a boy’s team, I played for a boy’s team pretty much up until I was about 12, and then I played for Nunnery Wood Girls.
“I think it helped me growing up. I think more girls should do it now because you’re a lot stronger, and it builds you; you build a lot of resilience against it because, obviously, girls, you would get picked on for being a girl playing football back then.
“When I was younger, the split didn’t come in, you could play until you were 16, and then obviously it got further down, I think you should play up to maybe high school now, so 12, 13 sort of age.”
Following her time at grassroots level, Bevan got scouted by West Brom, a moment that gave her her break into the football pyramid.
“𝐈 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬” 🗣️
— Sutton Coldfield Town FC Women (@SCTFCWomen) August 11, 2024
Abby Bevan speaks on this afternoon’s victory over Crewe.#COYR #OurTown 🌹💙 pic.twitter.com/q6eFkQOJ1I
“I was playing for Worcestershire County Schools at the time, and the manager there said, West Brom have looked at you, do you want to go for training? Went training, and following that, they said they wanted me.”
With the constant changes within women’s football, it seems that academy football has been overlooked.
Academy football in the men’s game has such a deep pool with age groups going right the way down at some clubs, but now girls in academies have to face boy’s teams.
“Back then it was, you’re an academy, you’re seen as an academy, you play against Liverpool, Arsenal, now they play against boys in the Mercian League, it’s not seen as an academy which I think puts a downer on it because a girl should feel like they’re part of an academy, like the boys are, they’re in an academy, a girls’ academy should play against girls’ academies.
Bevan spent some time at Cheltenham in between her two stints at West Brom, during her time with the Robins, she saw the start of current manager Tom Davies’ reign.
“I just had a lot going on at the time, and I couldn’t cope with what was happening with football, I just didn’t enjoy going anymore, so I needed something close to home, not as much pressure, so then I got transferred to Cheltenham.
“To start with, it was Alex Cheal, and then it went to Tom Davis, Alex Cheal’s lovely, lovely character, too nice though. I really got on with him. He had his favourites, though, but Tom Davis was brutal, straight to the point, but we won the league with him.
“Cheltenham had just gone up a league, but I didn’t know if they were going to stay up, and he wasn’t bringing players in, so I wanted to step up and go back to West Brom, have a better challenge.”
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