“We’ve probably always been regarded as poor relations in football, because of a lack of cash investment that maybe a big men’s club would have given us, and [the players] they do appreciate that we’ve not been big spenders in the past, but we’ve always had that wrap-around care and almost family-feel around the girls, and tried to do things better every year.”.
At a time when the 12 WSL clubs have affiliated men’s sides in the Premier League, Sanders and Hepple believe it is “vitally important” for the women’s game that stand-alone clubs thrive.
The family has “lived and breathed” the club, says Dawn, who knows how much Durham’s growth means to the long-serving players, including Sarah Wilson, who signed in 2014 from Newcastle.
The club had been under Durham University’s ownership until last summer when first Sanders then Hepple, who had been running it as directors, took shares.
The Connollys, from Hartlepool, were sponsoring and helping Durham for several years and had got to know Sanders when their daughters were playing grassroots football, before they won their fortune in 2019.
