Peaches FC are more than a grassroots football team, they’re a community. One that champions inclusivity and marginalized voices both on and off the pitch. 

Formed in 2021, Peaches FC started out playing women’s grassroots football in east London with only a handful of members. And although they were originally set up for those who’d never kicked a ball before, they now boast a roster of almost 50 players and continue to be inundated with requests from budding football enthusiasts and seasoned vets alike. 

In recent years, the women’s game has experienced exponential growth. The likes of Leah Williamson, Lauren James and Chloe Kelly have become household names. Presenting at the BRITS, sitting front row at London Fashion Week and even making cameos in soaps - shoutout to Lauren Hemp and Hollyoaks. The women’s game has rightfully found its cultural footing, and grassroots football has a serious role to play in that. 

Recognising the role that Peaches FC plays in helping to make football a more progressive space, New Era have partnered with some of the biggest ballers in grassroots football for their debut womenswear collection. 

VERSUS sat down with Eva, Katie and Zak to talk about the importance of partnering with a brand like New Era on their mission to push the women’s game forward, how this partnership will help them to remove barriers for some wanting to access the sport and what changes they’d like to see in women’s football moving forward. 

‍Where did the name Peaches FC come from?‍

‍Eva: Apparently it was a pun on the word ‘pitches’ but I am not sure that works! I think it’s because we’ve got peachy vibes and there’s always a peachy atmosphere. 

‍Katie: And we score peachy goals! 

‍There are no negative connotations to the term ‘peach’, really!

‍Zak: It definitely gives off a fun vibe. There are some teams in the league that have quite serious names, but when you hear ‘Peaches FC’ you automatically get quite a relaxed feeling from it. Of course we can win matches and titles! But the main thing we’re concerned about is making sure people are happy and enjoying themselves. 

‍You’ve all touched up on how inclusive an environment Peaches FC is. Why is that important?

‍Eva: Our club helps bring structure to people’s weeks, no matter how bad they’ve been, as well as offering a wider support network. We had a teammate message after a training session recently explaining how awful her day had been, but playing football made her feel so much better and at ease with herself. 

‍Katie: Even when the weather’s really bad, you never think about skipping training or a match because experiencing that type of environment - one where you feel safe and cared for - is so important to how you feel and go about your day-to-day life. 

‍Zak: It’s also such a great alternative to meeting up with friends and going for a drink, or centring activities around alcohol. Often when you do that you can leave feeling quite depressed or at least worse about whatever situation you’re experiencing. 

‍Eva: I would not have met so many people from different walks of life if it wasn’t for Peaches FC. We had a little boy come over to us once when we were training and he said, “my mum really wants to play football. Can she join you?” She isn’t someone you’d meet down the pub because she doesn’t drink so this team has allowed us to connect with people in a more wholesome way. 

‍Katie: Peaches FC is really like a family - I know that sounds like a cliche, but it is true. I think that’s also indicative of the wider grassroots football scene to be honest. We’ve got Peaches who play pick-up games for ‘rival’ teams or stand in for other teams when they’re running low on numbers. The entire scene acts as a bit of an extended support network for players. 

‍What does it now mean to work in partnership with a brand like New Era? 

‍Eva: I think it’s important that we work with brands like New Era to show how diverse and inclusive women’s football is; New Era are helping to bring a level of exposure to the grassroots scene it’s needed for a really long time. 

‍Katie: It’s also great to get the recognition and have the limelight shone on us, I won’t lie! We do great things at our club and it’s nice knowing other people in the community and beyond are aware of that. 

‍Zak: It really helps to bring about a certain level of awareness, for sure. So many people don’t realise that spaces like this exist in football. People have a very specific idea of who plays football and that’s actually representative of a very narrow part of society, when in reality, football is for everyone. When brands like New Era work with teams like Peaches FC it allows other people to realise they can also play and be a part of the game. 

‍Eva: The sponsoring aspect of working with brands is also really important. We have people join the team who can’t afford to buy kit and working with New Era removes that barrier to access. We need to hire pitches and equipment for training too, and that costs a lot of money - there’s also league subs! Having a really supportive sponsor who can help alleviate financial obstacles especially, it really does help us to make football more inclusive. 

‍Zak: It can be so tricky with spaces especially. Men’s teams tend to take over a lot of the pitches in London. Working with brands like New Era helps us to protect those spaces. Grassroots football should be local to your community, we were recently told we couldn’t access a pitch we’d been using for a long time because a men’s team offered more money. They wanted us to move to the other side of London! That’s not accessible at all.

Check out New Era's debut womenswear collection here.

VERSUS: How did you each find out about and become members of Peaches FC? 

‍Eva: I joined in 2021 when the club was first formed. Everyone was a beginner - mostly - and so it seemed like a really welcoming space to be a part of. I’d never kicked a ball before so I was quite nervous! But we immediately decided to join a league and lost our first game 29-0 but the vibes were always very peachy. After that we were determined to up our training! 

It was such a nice community to become a part of because everyone was there for the same reason: to enjoy a new hobby and make friends in a really inclusive environment. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. 

‍Zak: I didn’t grow up playing football too often but it was always a present in my life. Playing boys’ or men’s football, there’s this sort of skills-based hierarchy that determines your place in the team, and that never really appealed to me. I think I saw an article in The Standard around the time of the Women’s Euros in 2022 about a local grassroots football team called Peaches FC, and thought, “that sounds like a good vibe and a little bit of me”. 

I remember during one of the first sessions I joined, I automatically put myself at the back of the pitch in defence because whenever I had played football before, that’s where I was shoved. Have you heard the football phrase ‘when in doubt, kick it out!’? I had that mantra playing in my head for the whole hour or so. But someone came over to me at the end of the session and asked if I ever thought about playing up front…

‍I heard you’re the team’s star striker!

‍Eva: Zak won the Golden Boot last season!

‍Zak: It has been an amazing journey for me and Peaches FC forms probably 85% of my social life. That’s definitely something I didn’t really anticipate because I joined to play a sport, keep fit, maybe make some friends, but it’s now such a huge part of my life. 

‍Katie: There’s quite a few similarities between both of their stories and mine. When I moved down to London I’d trained with a few teams but never really liked their vibe. As soon as I found Peaches FC, it immediately felt like such a warm and welcoming space. I had played some football when I was younger and was the only girl on a local team, classic! But when I went to an all girls’ secondary school I stopped playing because there wasn’t a team for me to play on anymore. It’s great to feel like I’m back in love with the game. 

Since forming in 2021, and especially since the Lionesses’ won the Euros and reached the World Cup final, has there been a lot more interest in the team?‍

Eva: Definitely!

‍Zak: How many people were there when you first started?

‍Katie: I think there was maybe a core group of 10 players or so.

‍Eva: We had to start a waiting list initially but now we’ve gone up a league we’ve been able to start a new beginners’ team, which is a great feeling because we’re able to cater to the demand and continue to provide inclusive spaces for women and non-binary people to play a game they love. We’ve even had some people go off travelling, have babies, move away and come back. Recently, one of our teammates came back from maternity leave and was quite nervous about playing football again…she scored a hat-trick in her first game back! 

‍Zak: She’s the ultimate Peach, she just brings nothing but good vibes.