Ipswich Town Women move to Colchester: Will fans feel at home?

Ipswich Town Women will cross the county border to play at Colchester United's JobServe Community Stadium from next season.

Town, who sealed promotion to the second tier of women's football in April, have spent the past 12 years playing at Felixstowe & Walton FC's Martello Ground in Suffolk.

But the switch announced on Monday will see the team play in Colchester for the next two seasons. What has been the reaction to the move?

Helen Thornton, a Town men and women season ticket holder from Ipswich, said she was "disappointed" and felt it was a "missed opportunity" not to move the women to the club's main stadium, Portman Road.

Other fans on social media cited concerns over travelling to Colchester as well as the fact it was in a different county.

Some feared the fanbase built up in Felixstowe would be lost.

But Sam Hall, 34, from Chelmsford, believed it was positive move.

"Going to a bigger stadium can only be a good thing," he explained.

"Portman Road was never really an option in my mind because it costs so much to run a game there and you're never going to get 10,000 fans there every week, so going to an intermediate sized ground, which is probably the nearest to Ipswich you can get for that size.

"I can't really see a huge negative, other than crossing the county line."

His one concern was whether the Community Stadium could provide a "family friendly atmosphere" that had been felt at the Martello Ground.

"I think this move makes sense because it's just down the A12 and it will mean more fans can go and see them play at a bigger ground," Jennifer Lees, 39, from Leiston, Suffolk, said.

"If they played at Portman Road then there would be fixture clashes if the men's team are on Sky Sports and the possibility of three games being played in four days on the same pitch, with midweek fixtures coming back next season.

"The two games they had at Portman Road drew big crowds, but those were advertised for months in advance and were on international breaks."

Mitchel Wraight, 30, is a Colchester United fan from the city.

"Having had issues with our pitch over the last few years, and the embarrassment of having multiple games called off last year, I suppose United's fans are apprehensive about anything that could damage the new pitch," he said.

"But I'm told it's a 'stitched' hybrid pitch that's very durable and won't get torn up from excessive use.

"If that's the case, and it's financially positive for Colchester United, then I'm all for it."

In announcing the link-up, Colchester United confirmed the move would result in investment in the pitch.

"This arrangement enables Colchester United to invest directly into significant pitch improvements this summer, including the full stitching of the stadium surface, an upgrade that benefits our own players and fans throughout the next two seasons and beyond," said a club spokesperson.

"While we fully recognise the traditional rivalry between the two clubs, this is a practical facility-sharing agreement, with no wider implications for either club's identity or independence."

Danielle Warnes, chairwoman of the Colchester Women's team, told BBC Essex, Town's move would "absolutely" act as motivation for them.

"I think it's really important for us to recognise where we are in the pyramid versus where Ipswich are," she said.

"They've gone on a fantastic journey and I think it's really important we stay closely aligned to that and learn because that's the only way we're going to grow if we keep our eyes close to good teams around us.

"For us, we will have our own fanbase, as Ipswich will, but actually the opportunities within the women's game locally will grow and hopefully that will have a positive impact for us and what we're trying to do at our home games."

Town will compete in the newly renamed WSL2 (Women's Super League 2) next season and have to meet stadium requirements for the league.

At the Martello Ground, the team had drawn in an average attendance of 726 fans over last season.

However, they did sell out their final game with 2,150 fans in attendance and they had previously drawn in crowds of more than 10,000 at Portman Road.

Colchester's ground has a capacity of 10,000 and Town's Under-21 men's team will also play a number of games there.

Town have committed to "working towards securing a permanent home" for the women in the Ipswich area after the two years.

"Significant upgrades" will also be made to Colchester's ground ahead of the upcoming new season.

Head of Women's Football at Town, Rachel Harris, said the club was excited for the move.

"With the additional requirements and challenges following promotion to the second tier for the first time, it sadly wasn't possible to maintain the Martello as our home," she said.

Chairman Mark Ashton added everyone was "extremely proud" of the women and they were "excited for the possibilities available to us at Colchester".

Felixstowe & Walton FC said while they were "naturally sad" to see the club move on, they were "immensely proud" of their achievements.

They added the bond between the clubs "remains strong" and they would continue supporting Town.

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