Bristol pub gets a new name in support of women's football

It marks Bristol City Women’s final home game of the season

A Bristol pub is changing its name to The SportsWOMAN tomorrow to support women’s football and celebrate the growing visibility of the game.

The one-day change will coincide with Bristol City WFC’s final home match of the season against Newcastle United Women.

The venue, officially the Bristol County Sports Club and founded in 1892, is one of the city’s oldest members’ clubs, and has a long history tied to traditional sporting culture.

But co-owner Charlie Haynes says the renaming reflects how far both the pub, and attitudes towards women in sport, have come.

He said: “Pubs are fundamental in British culture and sports go hand in hand, and to be able to give people a platform and an area to watch their favourite teams play is massive, even down to grassroots levels.”

He added that sport already plays an important role in bringing people together inside the venue.

“We’ve got darts teams and pool teams which both mix, and seeing people from different walks of life and cultures being united through any sports is beautiful, and being able to give people that outlet where we are now celebrating women in sport, it’s only a day at the moment, but it’s a beautiful thing.”

A member of staff at the pub, Stacey, also plays football, which Charlie says has helped bridge understanding between customers and the campaign.

“Because she is so passionate about it, which is the same joy that a lot of customers have for the sport, it makes them able to relate.”

“Hopefully we get to the point where promoting sports isn’t promoting men’s sport or women’s sport, it’s just sport. Hopefully that will become the new normal.”

The initiative has also received backing from Guinness and Bristol City WFC.

“Having support from Guinness is massive. It puts a smile on my face. We’re just a local independent business in BS1, we’ve not really got a big voice but to have a globally-known brand like Guinness on board is massive and something that I’ll always be proud of and doing it for a cause that I’m so passionate about.”

A lifelong Bristol City supporter, Charlie said the collaboration with the club and its women’s side has been particularly meaningful.

“I’m a massive Bristol City fan and have been since I was a kid, and to be able to have any connection to the club and be a tiny part of it makes me feel like an eight-year-old again, it’s amazing.”

The pub will host fans for the final home game against Newcastle Women, with supporters gathering to back the team as they push for promotion.

“It’s to support them in their final game of the season so as to really give the girls all the support we can and let them know ‘Bristol’s supporting you’ and everyone at the pub will be there supporting the team, and hopefully they keep growing.”

Charlie said the venue has already built strong links with the squad, including visits between players and staff.

“We went to watch them train, met all the players and they came down to the pub so we were lucky enough to teach them how to pour a pint of Guinness, and showed them that as a pub and community we’re supporting them.”

“It was nice to have customers meet these players and talk to them. It’s beautiful to see the passion from the club.”

But for Charlie, the most striking discovery came while renovating the pub.

“It’s only up until the 90s that it was a men-only social club, and I was going through minutes of a meeting from the early 90s about whether women should be allowed to watch snooker in the pub. It got voted against because they would’ve had to walk past the bar to get to the snooker table.”

“When we were redecorating the pub about a year ago, I found the minutes in a pile of rubbish and I started reading them, I just couldn’t believe it.”

He said that discovery makes the contrast with today’s campaign even more powerful, as the venue moves from a history of exclusion to one of celebration.

The SportsWOMAN rebrand will run for a single day this Sunday, coinciding with one of the biggest matches of the season for Bristol City Women.