THE North-East has proven to be a breeding ground for some of the leading players in the England women’s team in recent years and now Darlington hope to produce a few of their own female footballers.

They are launching an under-16s team with trials taking place later this month and there are plans in place to begin playing league matches from next season.

Steph Houghton, Jordan Nobbs and Jill Scott are from the region and all England regulars, part of the squad which reached the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup last year.

Their achievements, Quakers boss Martin Gray believes, can help to inspire the new Darlington team.

“Girls football in the North-East is massive and the area keeps producing international players,” he said.

“Jordan Nobbs is the daughter of one my friends Keith Nobbs, an ex-Hartlepool pro, and she’s at Arsenal now, and there’s a few others from up here who have done unbelievably well.

“It won’t happen overnight as there’s already teams out there such as Sunderland and Durham, but we want to get the ball rolling.

“We know there’s interest. At Longfield School every Friday at the academy there’s 20 girls after school. There’s some very talented girls as well.”

Phoebe Townsend, a former player with Middlesbrough and Norton, has the Level 2 coaching qualification and has been recruited by Gray to manage the team.

Players will study a Btec course at Darlington College, with the trial taking place on December 15 (7-9pm) at Eastbourne Sports Complex in Darlington.

As well as the under-16s, Townsend is hosting a weekly girls football session from Tuesday, December 6. It runs from 5.30-6.30, also at Eastbourne Sports Complex.

The first session is free and is aimed at girls of any ability aged under 18.

* For more information, contact Phoebe Townsend on 07766-080591 or email: phoebemgfa@gmail.com