By Reading FC

Royals women boss on her side’s return to RG2

Reading FC Women manager Kelly Chambers has been giving her thoughts on Sunday’s return to Madejski Stadium and the prospect of more games being played in the town she was born in.

This Sunday, Chambers’ Royals take on newly promoted Aston Villa in their inaugural home game of the 2020-21 season and the first time they’ve played at Madejski since a huge 6-0 win against Crystal Palace back in November of last year in the Continental Cup.

However, this weekend sights are firmly set on the league and bouncing back from a disappointing loss on the opening day of the WSL campaign, away to Arsenal.

“We’ve always wanted to come back to the town,” Chambers said, on Sunday’s return to RG2. “When we’ve played at Madejski before, you’ve seen the crowds we’ve got there, and actually being back at home in Reading more regularly means we’ll hopefully build the fanbase even more, which will be great.

“Obviously for the girls, for the staff and especially for myself – who was born in Reading – to now play in the heart of Reading is great.”

With fans across the country unable to attend live sporting events, Chambers is hopeful that by the time they are able to cheer on her Royals at Madejski again, they’ll have attracted a few more local supporters that may not have seen her team in action before. “Even though fans can’t be involved, we can start building that fanbase so that when we can open the doors to them, they can come and watch and feel even more part of the club.

“They don’t have to just watch the Men’s or the under-23’s, it’s a bigger picture now and it’s that ‘whole club’ philosophy, which is great”.

Reading FC Women take on Aston Villa Women at Madejski Stadium this Sunday at 2pm. The match will be streamed live on the FA Player.