Her Game Too initiative to be on display as Hartlepool United host Northampton Town

Hartlepool continue their bid for League Two survival as they welcome a Northampton side fourth in the table looking to secure automatic promotion back to League One.

But there will be another added importance to the fixture at the Suit Direct Stadium as the club partners with the #HerGameToo movement to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023.

As a campaign, #HerGameToo seeks to work together with clubs across the UK to enforce a positive change for women and girls in football in order for them to feel safe, included and supported.

The Her Game Too fixture at the Suit Direct Stadium this afternoon will celebrate the growth of women and girls’ participation in football within Hartlepool including supporters, players, coaches and club staff.

Along with their partners, #HerGameToo aims to help stamp out sexism, inspire women and girls to participate in football, educate everyone that football is a game for all, influence other clubs towards a positive change in football, champion women in football and deliver the message that football is Her Game Too.

It means this afternoon’s visit of Northampton will see the spotlight put on Hartlepool United Women as well as the female teams within the Hartlepool United Youth Alliance.

A club statement read: “We will be bringing back Victoria as Pools’ mascot for the day with H’Angus getting a well-earned break.

"She will be taking our selfie frame around the ground to capture our female supporters at the Suit Direct Stadium.

“We will have ball girls from Pools Youth FC with flag bearers from HUWFC U11’s, plus we will have two very special female mascots from Hartlepool Young Carers.”

Hartlepool’s players will be wearing special Her Game Too t-shirts supplied by HUWFC sponsors Logo To Go with Melissa Howlett, owner of Logo To Go, pleased by the support shown from the club towards the initiative.

“I was so pleased to hear about the #HerGameToo campaign, especially as we have a daughter who is a HUFC season ticket holder.

"It’s great that Hartlepool United are supporting this and dedicating the game on March 11 to the campaign. We are delighted that our store Logo To Go have sponsored the team’s warm up t-shirts to help promote the day.”

Jill Simmonds, the Her Game Too ambassador for Hartlepool, is working closely with the club’s Youth Alliance, which consists of the six grassroots football clubs across the town.

Now the PFC Trust, through its Hartlepool Sport arm of the charity, is looking to help the national drive gather momentum in this area after signing a joint organisations partnership ahead of the fixture with Northampton.

She said: “We have had some productive talks with Hartlepool United’s head of commercial and operations Rose Stoker. She was particularly interested as a woman in a high-profile position at a men’s club.

“The dedicated match will champion all things women related and coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8). We plan to have Hartlepool United Women’s first team there doing a lap of honour before the game.

“There will be female ball girls, flag bearers, female mascots and we are looking at having the Youth Alliance girls’ teams doing a parade at half-time. We also have plenty more in the pipeline.”

She added: “Women should be involved in sport and football. They should be able to feel safe to chat to friends about football without being ridiculed. They should be taken seriously.

“This isn’t just about playing the game. Women should be able to attend matches and it should inspire girls to play and get more bums on seats at the Suit Direct Stadium. It is important to encourage this message and I am sure it will only grow.”

And it is a message which has been supported by Hartlepool boss Askey ahead of today’s game.

"Everybody should be included in sport. You should be able to do whatever you want to do,” he said.

"We’ve seen the women’s game grow and the quality of the play from women now. We saw Durham training and I was surprised by the quality of the players they’ve got.

"Anybody who comes to football, it’s one of those games where it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve got, we’re all as one when we’re watching football and we all have our highs and lows when we’re watching it as well.

"It’s great to see as many people as we can whether it’s female, male, whatever race. We should all be included.”

And Askey will be hoping it is cause for a double celebration as he looks to earn his first win as Hartlepool boss in what he is describing as another huge game for his side in their fight for League Two survival.

"This weekend is a huge game for us and one we have to win. Every game now is like a cup final,” Askey told BBC Tees.

"It doesn’t matter who we play in this league, if we perform at our maximum then we’ve got a great chance of winning the game - especially at home with the home supporters behind us.

"We’ve got to start bright and get the crowd going. Every game is a challenge.

"It’s not so long since they were in League One, they’ve got good players. But there’s nothing to fear. The biggest thing to fear is yourself.

"We’ve got to go and be positive. We’ve had two decent results and a decent performance [at Tranmere] so the players should be confident but it’s important we start brightly.”