Grassroots club Dunbar United score new training gear thanks to Premier League stars and ScottishPower | OneFootball

Dunbar United Girls received vital equipment after Hibernian captain Rachael Boyle nominated them through SWPL Principal Partner ScottishPower.

ScottishPower — the leading renewable energy company — became the exclusive Partner for Scottish Women’s Football and SWPL at the start of last season. Since then, ScottishPower has actively supported women’s football at all levels, from grassroots to elite.

Their partnership joins parent company Iberdrola, which has been promoting equality through sport since 2016. They achieve this through competitions and federations in Spain and Brazil. It currently supports more than 100 competitions, reaching an estimated 600,000 female athletes.

To celebrate their partnership, the company is providing six kit packages to grassroots clubs. The packages include bibs, cones, water bottles, Puma boots and footballs. ScottishPower asked the SWPL top-six captains to nominate a valued community club to support women’s youth football development in Scotland.

After nominating Dunbar United, Scotland’s Boyle and Hibs’ Notley personally handed over the equipment to Dunbar coach Fraser Docherty.

‘Something I never had growing up’

Boyle said: “I’m a local girl and live just along the road so regularly see the girls out here training. Getting the new kit from ScottishPower is a massive boost for girls teams like Dunbar. We’ve seen their faces as they get the new balls and boots out — they can’t wait to get on the pitch and use them, which is something I never had growing up. Often, players in my age group would have hand-me-downs from boys and mens teams; our kit never fit, and it was very rarely new. I’m delighted to see that changing thanks to the support from organisations like ScottishPower.”

Fellow Hibs star Notley added: “It’s been great to visit the training ground and see so many girls involved in football with Dunbar. When I was younger, there were fewer girls getting the opportunity to play. But now there’s so many teams competing week after week, and it shows how well the game is progressing.”

Dunbar Girls coach Fraser Docherty said: “We’ve got a great group of girls here, at least 22 of them training twice a week and playing at weekends. It’s great to get this kit. We’re incredibly grateful for the high-quality equipment. This will go a long way to keeping girls participating in the sport for longer.

“At Dunbar, we really do want to get as many kids involved and on a football pathway as possible, keeping them active and involved in sport all the way through the age groups to senior level. That really is our aim, and the support from parents, volunteers and local businesses like ScottishPower really does help us do that.”

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