Mel C sponsors Sheffield women’s football team – BBC
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Mel C has become the shirt sponsor of Sheffield FC Women’s first team for the 2026/27 season. The move brings high-profile backing to a side playing in the third tier of women’s football, with the club saying shirt-sale funds will support both the team and grassroots football.
Melanie Chisholm said Sheffield has a special place in her heart, recalling her first solo show at The Leadmill and the Spice Girls’ first stadium concert at Don Valley. Sheffield FC, founded in 1857 and regarded as the world’s oldest football club still playing, formed its women’s team in 2003; both sides play in Dronfield, Derbyshire.
- Mel C will sponsor Sheffield FC Women’s shirts this season.
- Shirt-sale proceeds will support the team and grassroots football.
- Sheffield FC was founded in 1857.
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Women’s football in England has grown quickly in recent years, with larger crowds, more media coverage and greater participation by girls and women. However, many local and amateur clubs still rely on limited funding, volunteers and access to suitable pitches and training facilities.
Sheffield has a strong football history and a range of community teams, including sides playing outside the top professional leagues. Sponsorship can help clubs meet everyday costs, attract players and make their work more visible locally.
Melanie Chisholm, known as Mel C or Sporty Spice from the Spice Girls, has often been associated with sport in her public career. Her involvement brings a well-known name to a part of the game where investment and recognition can vary widely.
Full account
Former Spice Girl Melanie C has become the shirt sponsor for Sheffield FC's women's first team ahead of the 2026/27 season, the club has announced. Chisholm, known to fans of the 1990s pop group as "Sporty Spice", will have her name and backing carried on the team's kit as part of the deal.
Chisholm said Sheffield held personal significance for her, having performed her first solo concert at the city's Leadmill venue and having played the Spice Girls' first-ever stadium show at the former Don Valley Stadium. She added that having grown up in Liverpool she had always felt an affinity with football, and described the growth of the women's game from grassroots level through to international competition as something she found genuinely exciting to witness.
Sheffield FC traces its history back to 1857 and is widely regarded as the oldest football club still in existence anywhere in the world. Its women's section was established in 2003 and currently competes in the FA Women's National League Division One Midlands, with both the men's and women's sides playing their home matches in Dronfield, Derbyshire, just outside the city itself.
According to the club, proceeds generated from sales of the newly sponsored shirt will be channelled back into supporting the women's first team as well as wider grassroots football initiatives. Chisholm said she was proud to be associated with a club of such long standing and looked forward to wearing the new kit herself and supporting the team from the sidelines during the coming season.
Where outlets differ
Only one of the two sources supplied usable editorial content: Source 1 returned solely a Google cookie-consent/sign-in page with no article text, so no comparison of emphasis or wording is possible from it.
Source 2 (BBC) is therefore the sole substantive source for this account, providing the sponsorship announcement, Chisholm's personal ties to Sheffield, and background on Sheffield FC's history and women's team.