Women's football group receives King's Award

A women’s football group which has grown into a community of more than 500 people is among a number of volunteer-run organisations that have been honoured with the King's Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS).

Ladies Football 4 Fun is made up of women of all ages and abilities who regularly meet up to play the sport in friendly matches across Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Warwickshire and the Black Country.

Katie Macleod-Peters, who runs one of the sessions, said the group's success reflected the number of women that were "waiting in the wings" for an opportunity to come and play football.

"We were over the moon. It's such a proud moment," she said of the recognition.

"It feels like when you're just dragging some footballs to a park and putting some goals up on a wet Wednesday night, like you're just doing something that's fun for you and sometimes it's a bit of hard work." she added.

"It was brilliant to get such a prestigious recognition."

The group, which was set up in 2022, offers a chance for women aged 18 to 50 to meet others in friendly and accessible football games that take place in local parks and sports facilities.

Macleod-Peters, who leads the sessions in Cotteridge, Birmingham, alongside another volunteer, Gemma Ryan, said they had decided to start their own football classes after attending one which was further away from home.

"On the drive back, we were thinking ‘this is quite far away. Wouldn't it be cool if there was one near us’?"

The pair signed up as session leaders and have seen demand grow steadily as dozens of women joined the group.

"We were expecting a couple of people in the first session and 25 [to] 30 people turned up," she said.

"And now we have more than 100 people in our WhatsApp group."

Macleod-Peters described the space Ladies Football 4 Fun had created as "really important" and said it was a place for women to come and have a "casual kick about and a laugh".

The sessions are free to attend at a local park and are open to women of all abilities, with players ranging from beginners to those returning to the sport after many years away.

Macleod-Peters, who herself had not played football since she was 10 years old, said she wanted to create something that was not competitive and "didn't require heaps of commitment".

The clinical psychologist described the King's Award as both "special and important".

"It is always the best idea to go and play football, no matter what," she said.

The group is among a number of volunteer organisations from around the West Midlands that have received the King's Award for Voluntary Service for 2026.

Equivalent to an MBE, it is the highest recognition given to local voluntary groups in the UK.

Ledbury Rugby Football Club, founded in Herefordshire in 1883, said it was "immensely proud" that its volunteers had been recognised with the award.

The club is supported by more than 100 volunteers, bringing rugby to players of all ages and abilities, with more than 300 junior members and about 100 senior members taking part.

"This is an extraordinary achievement and one that reflects the commitment, generosity and dedication of the many volunteers who give their time, energy and passion to our club and wider community," chair Ellie Ramsey added.

Other recipients in the region include Hartlebury Castle Trust, which manages the heritage attraction in Worcestershire, and Telford knitting group Khushdil Ladies, which knits and donates baby and toddler woollens locally.

Shropshire Union Canal Society, which works to promote, protect and restore the canal network, was also recognised as part of this year's awards.

David Carter, its chairman, said he hoped the recognition would enable volunteers to complete their tasks more easily.

He told the BBC the charity's members took a "great deal of pride" in their work.

"There's also of course the feeling that, having finished a piece of the canal, other people can enjoy it, boaters, walkers, cyclists, fishermen, people who just like nature," he said.

"We spend our spare time doing something which will give a lot of pleasure to other people."

In Staffordshire, the county council said seven voluntary groups were honoured with the award, including Childhood Cancer Parents Alliance (CCPA), North Staffordshire BASICS and Burton-on-Trent Sea Cadets.

Rachael Olley, CEO of CCPA, said she had "burst into tears" when she found out the news.

"It just means so much for our small charity to be recognised in that way. It's the highest achievement we could gain really," she said.

"As a team, we're all over the moon about it."

Olley said she hoped the recognition would help the charity overall.

"Apart from being hugely proud of the achievement, it's so nice that other people will recognise our charity as having that kind of award," she said.

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