Oxford University W.A.F.C.
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| Full name | Oxford University Women's Association Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Blues | ||
| Founded | 1986 | ||
| Ground | Marston Sports Ground, Oxford, England | ||
| President |  Rebecca May | ||
| Captain |  Anna Green | ||
| League | BUCS MARS Midlands Division 1A | ||
| 2013-14 | BUCS MARS Midlands Division 2A, 1st | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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OUWAFC is the Oxford University Women's Association Football Club, an English Women's football club representing the University of Oxford.[1] The club consists of two squads, the Blues (1st XI) and the Furies (2nd XI). Both teams compete in the BUCS League against other British universities. The Blues won BUCS Midlands Division 2A in the 2013/2014 season, gaining them promotion into Midlands Division 1A.
History of the Club
The club was founded in the 1980s and merged with OUAFC, the respective men's club, in 1998.[2]
BUCS
The Blues and Furies compete in BUCS Midlands Division 1A and 3A respectively. The fixtures run from October through March.
The Varsity Match
The climax of the season for both teams is the Varsity match against Cambridge University. Those women selected to compete in the Blues Varsity match receive an Oxford Half-Blue in recognition of their footballing success, with the Full Blue status being achieved if Oxford win the match, or the squad have a "successful" season in BUCS with regards to the Blues status conditions. In 2014, Cambridge won the 29th Varsity match 2-0.[3]
The first Women's Varsity Match was played in 1986, in which Oxford clinched the victory, beating the Light Blue side 4-3. Out of the 29 Blues Varsity Matches to date, only 2 have ended in draws, with the Dark Blues winning just 8 of the games. However, considering just the last 10 years, the dark blues have won on 4 accounts.[4][5]
Blues Status
The women who compete in the Blues Varsity match are awarded with an Oxford Blue under the following criteria:
Half Blue: 14 awards maximum to all those who play in the Varsity Match, subs must have played for at least 5 minutes.
Full Blue: 14 awards maximum. Awarded to women who play in the Varsity Match AND fulfil any of the following criteria:
Win the varsity match OR The team reaches the semi final of the Midlands Conference Cup (any player reaching this must have been selected for at least 50% of the cup matches) OR The team gets promoted that season [6]
Current Blues squad
As of 7 February 2014. [7] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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College Football
There are 24 women's college teams registered to the Women’s College League, of which there are 4 divisions. Eight of these are joint teams made up of two or three colleges. The college teams also compete in the Cuppers competition, which was won by Worcester College in the season 2013/2014, with a 1-0 victory over Keble/Hertford.
Notable Alumni
Notable alumni include Rachel Riley[8] (TV presenter) and Jen O'Neill[9] (editor of She Kicks women's football magazine).
References
- ^ http://www.ouafc.com/clubs/view/67/Women-s-Blues-and-Furies.
- ^ http://www.sport.ox.ac.uk/sport/womens-football/
- ^ http://oxfordstudent.com/2013/02/28/penalty-heartbreak-wrecks-ouwafcs-varsity-hopes/
- ^ http://ouwafc.co.uk/varsity.htm
- ^ http://www.ouafc.com/articles/view/3/History-of-OUAFC
- ^ http://www.oxforduniversityblues.com/womensportstatus
- ^ "Blues Squad". OUAFC. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
- ^ https://twitter.com/RachelRileyRR/status/487731280793329664
- ^ http://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/260141/Female-Careers-in-Football.pdf
