London City Lionesses will use Sunday’s Barclays Women’s Super League match against Leicester City to put Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid in front of their supporters, with the local charity taking part in matchday activations at the CopperJax Community Stadium in Bromley. The game kicks off at 12pm on Sunday 26 April, and the club says representatives from the charity will be at the stadium while a stand is set up in the fanzone.
The collaboration goes beyond the 90 minutes. Charity staff will run education sessions with the club’s players and staff in the week of the fixture, part of an effort to raise awareness of domestic abuse and the support available locally. Freya Godfrey said the team was honoured to partner with Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid and described the session at the training ground as really informative, saying it made the squad think. She also said the club would welcome any fundraising help fans can give on matchday.
Bromley and Croydon Women’s Aid has spent 50 years supporting individuals and families worried about, at risk of, or experiencing domestic abuse. Constanze Sen said the charity was proud to work with London City Lionesses and stressed that domestic abuse can affect anyone. She said it is estimated that 1 in 4 women will experience it in their lifetime, adding that the charity is seeing more people reach out for support.
The numbers underline why the partnership matters. BCWA’s advice line supports approximately 300 callers per month, while donations can help in immediate and practical ways: £10 can provide emergency essentials for women arriving in refuge with nothing, £75 can fund specialist support group sessions, £100 can help keep the advice line running and £500 can help train an Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocate. The club’s matchday push is designed to connect a crowd already gathered for football with a service that works year-round behind the scenes.
Football is the draw on Sunday, but the message is wider than one fixture. By bringing BCWA into the stadium, onto the pitch day and into the training ground, London City Lionesses is giving the charity a direct route to local fans at a time when demand for support remains high. For the people BCWA serves, that visibility can be the difference between not knowing where to turn and taking the first step.