Back in September we announced that we had partnered with Her Game Too. Her Game too is a fantastic Non-Profit Organisation aimed at championing women in football, creating an environment where women and girls are respected and welcomed as equals within fanbases, and campaigning against sexism in football.

Today we are proud to introduce to you our Dulwich Hamlet x Her Game Too fan ambassadors. These are a group of female fans who are regularly at the games for both our men's and women's games and are dedicated to driving forward this ethos, helping welcome and support any female fans at Champion Hill, and who have direct links to the club and supporters trust to raise any concerns or issues that need to be brought to our attention.

We sat down with each to get to know them better.

From the Supporters Trust, we have Sarah:

DHST: How long have you been a Dulwich Hamlet fan?

Sarah: I think my first game was in 2014. I've always preferred supporting lower leagues teams, where you don't have to spend an arm and leg and there's more of a sense of community. Hamlet certainly has that.

DHST: What has been your experience of being a female football fan?

Sarah: Outside of Hamlet, I have experienced what I deem the "usual" comments and unwanted attention many women get. When I was a kid, not being able to play with the boys and the girls team I did join not having enough players/opponents/support. As a women, needing to name umpteen amounts of players and rules to be deemed worthy has been the most common. A personal favourite was "Wow, you know who Griezmann is?! Oh wait, is it because of the shampoo advert?".

DHST: What made you want to become a Her Game Too x Dulwich Hamlet fan ambassador?

Sarah: It's a fantastic fan led initiative which seamlessly merges into Dulwich Hamlet's core values of inclusion for all. I've been a passionate football supporter since a young un and have experienced varying levels of misogyny and sexism in the stands (although of course not at Hamlet), as well as stories from other female supporters. It's simply unacceptable. The recent years has seen immense progression for the women's game climaxing with the Lionesses win in the Euros this summer and we must continue with this momentum to make sure all women are welcomed at all levels and that starts with our Hamlet fans. Our HGT posse want to highlight the many passionate and amazing women who love football!

The second of our fan ambassadors is Emma:

DHST: How long have you been a Dulwich Hamlet fan?

Emma: I moved to London in 2018, and my brother and sister were already regulars at Dulwich. My first game here was the first game back at the Hill on Boxing Day 2018, so really one for the history books! I've been hooked ever since!

DHST: What has been your experience of being a female football fan?

Emma: I've pretty much had a great experience as a woman at the Hamlet - there's minor things like not being able to get heard in the chants and struggling a little more to find a spot where you can see the action, but on the whole the terraces are a pretty friendly place. It took a little longer maybe to start getting to know people, it's a little harder to get chatting to people when you're not sure how much you have in common, so giving people a friendly welcome and maybe a familiar face is something I hope to do as an ambassador. Elsewhere in football there are more difficult experiences, but to be honest my heart is in non-league and women's football so I'm not as concerned with that!

DHST: What made you want to become a Her Game Too x Dulwich Hamlet fan ambassador?

Emma: I wanted to become an ambassador as I really love coming to the Hamlet but it took a little while to find my place and I want to help make that happen for people, especially people who can feel less welcome at football, including women.

Below you will find a video introduction with Rosie, Jess and Kate, who complete the team!

Thanks so much to all for getting involved! We can't wait to work with you!