A Chat with Jo Goodall, founder of the LFC Women’s Supporters Club

Jo Goodall has been a supporter of the Liverpool Women’s team for quite some time now. While there were fans from all over the world throwing their support behind the club, there wasn’t a supporters club focused solely on the women’s team. To remedy that, Jo created the LFC Women’s Supporters Club.

TLO: What does it mean for there to be a LFC Women’s Supporters Club?

Jo: Although LWSC is not officially affiliated with LFC (not yet, at least) it is great that we have been acknowledged by the club and they are willing to listen to our ideas and thoughts. I felt it was important to have a supporters club specifically for the women’s team so that fans can feel part of a community, or what we like to call the LFC Family. It’s brilliant to see that there are hundreds of Official LFC Supporter Clubs all over the world but I feel that sometimes the fans of the women’s game can get drowned out in those. It’s great to see that some of them have been sharing more women’s content recently though and I hope that this can continue and grow.

TLO: It’s great to hear the club are willing to listen, the women’s team supporters absolutely deserve to be heard. Speaking of the higher ups at the club, as a long time supporter of the LFC Women, how do you feel about FSG’s vision and investment (or lack there of) for the club?

Jo: It’s frustrating because the club does put money into the women’s team. Whether they invest enough is not something I can personally answer. What frustrates me more than the financial investment is the lack of interest that the club seems to have regarding marketing and publicity of the women’s team. I’d love to see more of the players in adverts for new kits, not just one or two of them, especially this season now that they have released the women’s version of the kit. Also things like advertising the women’s games more across all LFC social media, not just the women’s accounts, to help reach a bigger audience, or adding some LFC Women’s merchandise into the shop. It’s the small touches like this which I feel go a long way with fans.

TLO: We have definitely noticed the lack of activity from the main social accounts when the women are playing (but hey, they’re happy to tweet out highlights of the men’s U23 match from a few days ago while the women are playing). Unfortunately, being relegated to the Championship means there is no guarantee the Liverpool game will be the one picked to be shown live from week to week on the FA Player. Other clubs, such as Lewes FC are managing to stream all of their home games. Have you heard any rumblings of LFC doing the same?

Jo: Not at the moment, sorry to say. As I understand it, clubs are only allowed to stream three league games per season but this is definitely something I would like to approach the club and the FA about to see if there is anything that they can do - not just for us but for all women’s teams in general. It was great to see the Conti Cup game get streamed, which is not something that has happened before. I think it’s vital that women’s games are shown as much as possible, especially during the pandemic whilst we are still not able to get back into the stadium. The women’s game has gained such a huge interest since the Women’s World Cup and to lose that momentum now would be devastating.

TLO: While Liverpool stuttered out of the gates in the WSL last season, they started off strong before dropping points the last couple of games. What are the steps you think Liverpool need to make to compete consistently in the WSL again?

Jo: Everyone in the team has been outstanding for me so far this season. We have played some big games against the likes of Durham and Leicester in the league, and Manchester United in the Conti Cup. The ladies have bonded really well from the start and certainly kept their heads and spirits up. I’m proud to see them training hard and fighting every game for the goals they score. The fact we have only lost one game, and by only one goal too, makes me doubt that we would have been relegated had last season been allowed to finish, but that is the harsh reality. Vicky Jepson has worked wonders with putting this team together and all credit to her for continuing to believe and not giving up on us. If they can all carry on like this and keep pushing to be better then I have every faith that we will be in the running for a place back in the top league.

TLO: We would love to see the LFC Women back on their perch in the WSL! What are the best ways that fans from abroad can support the LFC Women?

Jo: Following us (and of course the team) across social media, and liking and sharing posts with friends, is a great way to start supporting the women. Games that are being streamed live can usually be found on the FA Player website or app which is available worldwide.

A team of us here at LWSC are also in the final stages of formalizing the supporters club. Once this step is complete we will be able to open up official membership for all fans across the globe. Details and benefits of becoming a member will be a work in progress, but hopefully fans will join up and help us with this along the way. We will advertise this across our social media so be sure to keep an eye out!

TLO: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us, it’s great to see what you are doing to foster the growing support for the LFC Women!

You can follow the LFC Women’s Supporter Club on Twitter/Instagram (@LFCWSC) and on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/LFCWSC/).

For more about Jo and the fantastic work she is doing with the local girls and womens soccer scene in the Liverpool area, check out this fantastic write up from Jo herself!