West Midlands women's football organisation earn royal recognition for voluntary work
Ladies Football 4 Fun has been awarded The King's Award for Voluntary Service
A volunteer-led organisation that's making recreational football accessible to women across the West Midlands is being royal recognised for it's impact.
Ladies Football 4 Fun has today (November 14) been awarded The King's Award for Voluntary Service for 2026, the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Ladies Football 4 Fun says it prides itself on being a "welcoming, inclusive, women-centred football community that brings people together through a shared love of the game."
It's open to women and non-binary people of all walks of life and all footballing abilities, with the goal of providing a "safe space to have a kick about".
What began as a shared idea between two women has grown into a community of more than 500 women across Coventry, Warwickshire, Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull, united by football.
Melissa Howarth and Helen Wilkins-Tims, Co-Founders of Ladies Football 4 Fun, said: “Receiving The King's Award for Voluntary Service is an incredible honour for Ladies Football 4 Fun and a wonderful recognition of our amazing volunteers.
"Their kindness, dedication and enthusiasm are at the heart of everything the group does, helping to create a welcoming, supportive community where friendships flourish and confidence grows.
"This award is a celebration of everyone who makes Ladies Football 4 Fun so special.”
Boglarka Osterloh, Volunteer Session Leader and Committee Member, added: “I am incredibly proud and honoured that our group has been recognised with this prestigious award.
"Finding Ladies Football 4 Fun was truly the best thing that happened to me – it gave me the chance to combine my lifelong passion for playing football with the joy of creating a welcoming space for others.
Another Volunteer Leader, Katie McLeod Peters, said before her first session with the group, she didn't realise how many people there were "just like her" who wanted to get into football with any competitive strings attached.
She said: "It's not about how good you are or what level you've got to, how old your are or your fitness or body type or ability, it's just all about having a kick about and having fun and making some friends and having a laugh.
"Yeah, it means so much."