Accrington and Rossendale College were crowned national champions at the weekend, as they saw off a competitive field to claim gold at the AoC Sport National Championships in Nottingham.
The college, representing the North West having won their regional tournament back in the autumn, won six of their either matches, drawing one and losing one, while they also scored 18 goals across the tournament, conceding just two.
Their only defeat came against last year’s runners-up Worthing College, who eventually finished fifth, while they couldn’t break down Central College Nottingham in a 0-0 draw.
Seevic College (East) and Barnet and Southgate College (London), claimed the silver and bronze medals respectively, in the nine-team tournament.
AoC Sport National Football Development Manager, Lauren O’Sullivan, said: “The AoC Sport National Championships was a fantastic spectacle of college football and celebration of the women’s game, with a number of top players from our ECFA national team, WSL clubs and FA Women’s Premier League clubs all on display.
“Women’s Football is a significant focus area in our new ECFA Strategy. We are excited to build on successes such as the National Championships and help address some of the challenges to double women’s and girls’ football over the next four years.
“Year on year we see the standard improving and this National Championships was no different, with women’s football in colleges becoming increasingly competitive.”
The AoC Sport National Championships – now in its 39th year – saw more than 1600 student athletes throughout England and Wales travel to compete across 13 different sports in the three-day event, which concluded with the South East region winning the Wilkinson Sword trophy for the first time since 2011.
AoC Sport Managing Director Marcus Kingwell said: “What a fantastic weekend we’ve had at this year’s National Championships.
“Thanks to the hard work of the University of Nottingham, Nottingham Conferences, Visit Nottinghamshire, volunteers, AoC Sport staff and, of course, the competitors, coaches and college staff, the past three days have been a resounding success.
“Congratulations to all who took part, we’re already looking forward to seeing you all again next year.”
