The Football Association of Wales is excited to announce that Welsh renewable energy developer Bute Energy will become the official sponsor of the FAW Women’s Cup and FAW Girls’ Cup for the next two seasons.
The partnership will advance the vision of creating a greener and more inclusive future for football and energise the women’s game while fostering growth within the sport. It represents a shared commitment to empower young women and promote gender equality of community football across Wales.
Due to the high demand for STEM skills in Wales, we will see the development of bespoke initiatives linking women and girls playing football to STEM subjects, employment opportunities in the clean energy sector, and a co-produced Sustainability Policy that can be tailored and adopted by clubs in the future.
The partnership, which will run until the end of the 2024/25 season, will see the FAW Women’s Cup be renamed the Bute Energy Welsh Cup and the FAW Girls’ Cup become the Bute Energy U16s Cup.
Annaliese Lewis, senior team player and junior team coach at Cascade YC, said: “The investment from Bute Energy will not only empower our young players to dream bigger and play better, but it also enables us to work with a renewable company to create a sustainable environment where they can thrive. We’re setting a powerful example of responsibility and care for the environment, ensuring that the future generations of women’s football have a greener and more inclusive home.”
Catryn Newton, Community Benefit Director at Bute Energy, said: “It’s been great to see the rapid growth of women and girls’ football in the last few years, and we’re proud to be supporting this growth in communities across Wales.
“Sport is a powerful way of improving people’s confidence and enabling them to be part of a community. We’re proud to be a part of that, while also supporting women’s and girls’ development as leaders and helping young people access STEM subjects and employment opportunities.
“At Bute Energy we’re acting now to respond to the Climate Emergency and cost-of-living crisis in new and innovative ways. We’re excited to start working with clubs, in particular those that are located near Bute Energy’s proposed parks, to help them become more sustainable. I’m immensely proud to be partnering with the FAW team who are just as forward looking and innovative, and excited to be working alongside them over the coming year.”
Lowri Roberts, Head of Women’s and Girls’ Football at the FAW, added: “Our aim is to work with committed partners who can Invest in HER, Support HER and Elevate HER to enable the women’s game to continue to grow.
“The Bute Energy sponsorship will enable us to enhance and develop our national cup competitions for all women and girls’ teams across Wales. Bute Energy are passionate about supporting the FAW to develop sustainable clubs and provide more opportunities for women and girls to reach their full potential.”
Bute Energy is based in Wales and has a vision of a healthier, wealthier Wales that uses energy generation as a positive power for the world, for Wales, for local communities – for this and future generations. The company is based in Cardiff and is tackling the climate emergency by powering Wales with clean, green energy, and empowering our communities through investment, jobs and skills.
Each of Bute Energy’s Energy Parks will have associated Community Benefit Funds that together will be worth millions of pounds a year. Bute Energy are talking with local people and organisations about the projects, groups and services they are engaged with and how they can help, focusing on cost of living support, recreation & health, education, environment & culture, and employability. The company’s investment in this area demonstrates the commitment to maximising the benefits for Welsh communities, with above industry standard levels of financial support.
To read more about Bute Energy, visit the website, or follow them on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
