Where it all began

Football has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a household with influences from Blackpool, Manchester United, Liverpool and Leeds. As soon as I was old enough my dad introduced me to our local club and the club he and my grandfather followed – Blackpool. It soon went from going to the occasional games, to getting a season ticket, to begging my parents to go on away trips at weekends and following our beloved Seasiders through the good times and the (many!) bad times.

As a young girl I had the opportunity to play football at school for a term. We even got to play at Bloomfield Road - a dream come true experience. But, as for many from our generation the chances to play were few and far between. Hockey and netball the more respectable choices.

Despite not playing a lot of football the game continued to be a big part of my life and my love of the sport was the reason I became a sports journalist. Throughout my career I have been fortunate to cover some of the biggest events in sport including the Olympics, Champions League and Wimbledon but I soon found myself back in the women's football world.

After initially being asked to cover a Women's FA Cup final I found myself pressing to attend more and more women's football matches from England games to lower leagues. I became enthralled by the stories that were being told and realising that people out there needed to hear the stories of people fighting to play the sport we loved from all backgrounds and experiences.

With these ideas going round in my head and the knowledge that my dream had always been to publish my own magazine, it was sitting around a Catan game with friends one evening that the subject came up. By the end of the game, we had an idea and Will was on board as our Chief Technology Officer and second director.

After working hard we launched with our first issue in April 2017 with interviews including Kelly Smith, Nick Cushing and Steph Houghton. Since then we have had the opportunities to travel the country and the world celebrating women's football. From attending grassroots games in the rain, to covering the 2019 Women's World Cup and of course spending the summer of 2022 watching the Lionesses be victorious on home soil, we have continued our love affair with the game.

After initially launching the monthly, digital magazine we have since expanded to include other products including our quarterly printed magazine, the TWFM Awards and our annual calendar. We have loved growing our products to showcase our love for the women's game and celebrate our stars.

We are proud to tell the stories that haven't been heard, that need to be heard and are there to inspire our next generation of footballers.

Football is a love and that love is for life.

Helen