A few parents in the same school grade, their daughters, and football of their own on top of school. That is how it started. Within three years Lions FC Girls had become one of the most well-established and successful girls’ teams in Thailand.
Lions FC started at Berkeley International School in January 2020, when a group of parents in the same grade set up extra football coaching for their daughters, on top of the football they already played at school. Joe Derham, one of the fathers, took it on.
The first months were the pandemic, and SoccerPro Bangna became home. Three seasons of matches and tournaments followed, the club history tells that part in full, and all of that experience went into how the coaches work now: a beginner and a girl who has played for years, coached properly in the same hour.
Six years on the club is still doing it, twice a week. The part we are proudest of is what happens afterwards: the girls develop their skills here and take that experience into their school teams, and a good number have become some of the strongest players in their school sides.
The direction has changed along the way. The club no longer builds itself around its own tournament season: the matches that matter now are the ones the girls play for their schools, and the hour here is for the football they take into them. There are photographs from all of it, and you can come to a session before deciding anything.
We ask for honest work in every session. Talent is welcome; it is not the entry requirement.
To the session, to the team, and to the girl next to you. Turning up matters.
The team is the point. Individual brilliance that costs the team is not brilliance.
For teammates, opponents, referees and coaches, including on the days we lose.
We want the girls to learn to play football properly. Two coaches take the group, so the hour is pitched at the girl in front of them rather than at an average.
We take anyone who wants to come, whatever her level. The club itself began as a group of beginners.
And we want her to want to come back on Thursday. If she stops enjoying it, nothing else we do here counts for very much.
We are dedicated to fostering a culture of respect, teamwork, and sportsmanship, instilling lifelong values that extend far beyond the pitch.
Lions FC Management
