I believe everyone is entitled to equal opportunities in sport, but sadly a lot of disparity exists.

Women’s football has never had access to the same level of resources that men's football enjoys. More than that, there are significant inequalities within women's football.

Sutton United, playing at the 5th tier of women's football, supports its women’s section by covering essential costs such as training facilities, pitches and basic equipment, but the financial landscape across the women’s game is far from level.

Some clubs at this level benefit from substantial backing through Premier League or EFL organisations, giving them access to resources and infrastructure that clubs like Sutton simply cannot match. Sutton United Women have also faced the challenge of playing home fixtures at several different venues, due to restrictions on the number of matches that can be played at our main stadium. Some of these are outside our local area and difficult for many supporters to reach. This has made establishing a regular fanbase and generating consistent matchday income extremely difficult, despite some fantastic football being played on the pitch.

This fundraiser is not about covering the basic costs of running the team. We want to give our players the same opportunities other clubs at our level can afford to give theirs. We want our women to have the same opportunities that our men can access.

The money raised could help improve areas such as player preparation, performance analysis, recovery, nutrition, travel and matchday support. These are the details that can make a significant difference over the course of a season. In the current position, even a relatively small amount of money can make an enormous difference.

With this in mind, I’m committing to getting on my bike and riding to every women’s first team league away match this season, if those of you who are able would be generous enough to sponsor me. Any money we can raise for our club would be a significant boost for the success of our women’s section.

You can support this by:

• Making a one-off donation

• Sponsoring me a set amount for every match completed (please message me to set this up)

• Pledging an amount for every kilometre cycled (again please message to set this up)

No contribution is too small, and donations can be made at any point between now and the end of the season.

Every penny raised will help us give the players the professional environment, resources and support they need to compete, develop and succeed.

This is our club, our women’s section and our opportunity to make a genuine difference.

Please donate if you can and please share this page as widely as possible.