Since Sally Thackary left her position as chair at Bradford City Women things have really picked up pace at the club and we are seeing a lot of progress not only off the field but on the field too. Sally had a fantastic time at the club however, the Bingley Bantams duo of Keith & Ian Taylor have come into fill in the vacant roles at the club and have already set the wheels in motion to make a big push to get fans and the community back to the club. Sally really did pave the way for the club but now it is time for the new people involved to really step up and continue helping the team grow and thrive as they should be doing. Ian Taylor has come in as head of operations at the club whilst Keith Taylor will be coming in as the treasurer which with their knowledge of Bradford City due to them going to Valley Parade for 50 years so fingers crossed this knowledge will really help bring in fans of the men's game to the women's game as the club is definitely one that deserves more fans through the gates than it currently gets. 

Things are definitely already on the right track as it is great to see tweets being sent from the club about positive meetings and positive things going on behind the scenes. It just gives us fans hope that things are going to improve and that it is all going in the right direction, the fact we are seeing all this in the midst of a pandemic where no football has been played and things could have ground to a halt in my opinion just goes to show how serious Ian and Keith are about what they want to do at the club and that it isn't just going to be a side project for them. For me seeing this is great as Bradford City Women are a great club with a lot of potential they just need some people in with a host of knowledge of the men's team who could possibly get a foot in the door to get the men's team to step up and help them out more than they currently do. I have noticed that since their appointment the men's Twitter account seems to share more of the women's news and fundraisers which is fantastic as it is certainly helping raise awareness for the club. 

We have also seen the team merge with the Bradford City Community foundation which is yet another great step in the right direction as it is getting the teams name out into the community and bringing the club to more young girls attention. It is also helping those girls get into the game via things such as their Easter camps, by seeing the women's team promoting these sort of events hopefully it will bring more girls into the camps. I will always remember when I was younger I went to one of these camps and there were only a few girls there which honestly was quite daunting at the time. Fingers crossed more girls will take part in these camps over the years and who knows it might end up converting them to City women fans and get them hoping to play for the club through the younger years with the aim to make it into the first team once they are old enough. By merging with the foundation the name of the club will definitely be passed around a lot more than previous and let's hope it has a lot of positives brought with it. 

It does make you wonder how many young girls know about the club already and the branches it has to offer in terms of progression through the years. It would be great to see lots of local players coming up through the different age groups and into the first team when their time came, the men's team produces some pretty good home grown talent that comes through the ranks so it would be great to see it happen in the women's game too. You are always seeing young girls on TV these days saying they want to be the next Lucy Bronze as she is one of the players you see most on the TV lately so who knows the progress Bradford City Women are making at the moment might bring in plenty of younger girls who start to look up to the Bradford City Women players like they do the Manchester City / Chelsea Women players, this could give the team an extra boost on the field too if they see all those younger faces in the crowd who want to be like them. The merger definitely has the potential to bring in more fans and benefits for those fans, players and future players so fingers crossed it all goes as planned. 

It isn't only off the pitch where we are seeing progress though, since the appointment of Chris Hames as manager we have seen things improving on the pitch but unfortunately the pandemic ended the season early once again so we haven't seen the team at their full potential yet. In the few games that were played in the 2020/21 season we saw much better performances on the pitch that just goes to show all the hard work Hames and his team were putting in to improve the squad and get the results needed. We have also heard Hames say how things have been changing for him and his team off the pitch during the postponement of the season which just gives hope that things are getting better and better ready for the return of a new season. I am really looking forward to the preseason build up to see all the hard work Hames and the team have been doing come into action and hopefully we are going to see the team go from strength to strength once again with those draws from last season hopefully turning into wins. 

It is safe to see the club is definitely moving in the right direction both on and off the pitch and as a fan it is brilliant to hear and read all about the progress but I am definitely excited to see the progress for myself when the games start again and fans can return. As a Bradford City Women's fan there is certainly a lot to look forward to and fingers crossed over the next few years we are going to see all this hard work paying off as it definitely going to be noticeable over night with what the club are hoping to achieve. Fingers crossed next season is a full season too with no cancellations due to the pandemic as it is time for Bradford City Women to step up and make their mark on the league.