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This weekend’s showdown between four island women’s football teams may have never come to be, were it not for a rebellious act by a Guernsey referee many decades ago.
“It's hard to believe, but the FA in 1970 finally agreed that women could play football… Women's football was played really quite successfully during the war, and they had huge crowds. But after the war, the FA were really quite concerned that the women's game would take away quite a lot of the spectators from the men's game, so they banned it, which is really unthinkable these days,” explained David Cherry.
The Cherry Godfrey CEO’s own father was a referee at the time, and the Referees’ Association were not best pleased about the change.
“But my dad was having none of that,” recalled David. “He said, ‘No, I want to do it!’ And he was the first Guernsey referee to referee a woman’s match.”
It’s a match that David remembers well – and one that “stuck” with him because it was “just pure football” and, as he joked, the women didn’t just “lie down all the time” like their male counterparts.
Women’s football has come a long way since then, with the Lionesses’ success at the 2022 Euros turbo-charging interest in the game both nationally and locally.
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It is Friday, which means it is match day for our women's side as they host neighbours Guernsey in a mouthwatering Cherry Godfrey Cup tie under the lights! ⚽
Get to Springfield for an 8pm kick off! Entry is free! ????
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It was this, combined with his family’s own connection, and Cherry Godfrey’s longstanding association with local football as a previous sponsor of the Muratti, that led to a realisation: why not set up a new women’s tournament in the Channel Islands?
“I'm just really, in a sense, upset that.. it took so long for us to realise how, how good the game could be played… That was my major thought behind it, [and], ‘Let’s do something that dad would be proud of.’”
So, working side-by-side with his daughter and Cherry Godfrey COO Tanzy, that’s exactly what he did. Today marks the start of a new tournament series bringing together the four islands – Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Isle of Wight– where the family lending firm has an office.
It started with a conversation with Guernsey FA, then very quickly moved to the Jersey FA, who David says “moved heaven and earth” to make the not-for-profit event happen.
The first match will be kicking off at 5pm tonight (Friday 23 August), with the finals set for tomorrow (Saturday 24 August).
Springfield Stadium will be hosting the inaugural match – something that wouldn’t have been possible without the extremely enthusiastic response and help of the Jersey FA.
Pictured: David Cherry (above) said his father's decision to break ranks when it came to women's football served as part of the inspiration for the new tournament.
But it really has been a whole-island effort, David smiles – ranging from sportspeople to travel providers, local hotels, the media, and even Government House.
“I've never really seen that working together before, quite as quite as strong as this, which is great… Everyone we've spoken to has really loved the idea and thought, ‘Yes, we can take something forward’,” he said.
Not only will the event be an opportunity to show off the various islands’ sporting prowess, but should also serve as an opportunity to showcase Jersey to individuals who may wish to travel over.
“I suppose that the beauty of it… Let's hope that people see some really lovely weather and they want to come back to Jersey again!”
While it might seem a little early to be thinking about legacy with the first tournament yet to take place, but David and Tanzy do hope that it will become a “competition that will really mean something for women's football” and hopefully evoke the same level of passion as the Muratti in decades to come.
The whole weekend event is not-for-profit and free for all islanders of all ages to attend.
“We want to get as many people coming together as possible,” said David.
As well as the football, attendees can expect food, drink and entertainment – though David is tight-lipped on what this might be.
And they’ve also worked hard to ensure that the games are able to be viewed by anyone who can’t make it to Jersey for the weekend. Each will be live-streamed – including in a few pubs across the islands.
So, the question remains, who will he be supporting?
“Well, you see, I'm a true Channel Islander, so I will skirt around it –my gran’s a De Carteret on my mother's side, and on my paternal side, my other gran is a Carré, so all with Jersey links, of course, and all with Sark links, and all with Guernsey links. I'd like all of them to win, really – no preference, just really good football and for the women to have a great time and their supporters!”
Today: 17:00 – Match One (Isle of Man v Isle of Wight), 20:00 – Match Two (Guernsey v Jersey).
Tomorrow: 10:00 – Third and Fourth Place Match, 12:30 – Gala Lunch, 15:00 – The Finals, 17:15 – Tournament Trophy Ceremony, 18:15 – Event Close.
Listen to the full interview about the Cherry Godfrey Cup with David Cherry below or by searching Bailiwick Podcasts with your favourite pod provider...
◆ WATCH LIVE: Four islands face off in new women's football tournament
Meet the Jersey squad: “This is a new era for us”
Meet the Guernsey squad: “A pivotal focus point for future pre-season training”
Meet the IoW squad: “It should be a really competitive occasion”
Football: Guernsey women to face Jersey in inaugural Cherry Godfrey Cup
Four islands tournament to build on growth of women's football
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