Living in Portsmouth, I’m about as far south as you can get in the United Kingdom. But my family roots run much further north, in the Cumbrian mining town of Whitehaven. When I saw that Whitehaven AFC Women had been drawn into the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Preliminary Round this weekend, it felt like the perfect chance to find out what has been happening at the club that represents my family’s home. To do so, I spoke with Robert Campbell – First Team Manager, volunteer, and, by his own admission, someone who has worn just about every hat at Whitehaven AFC.
“I Just Enjoy Supporting the Club and Community”
Campbell has lived most of his life in Whitehaven. “I was born in Frizington, a few miles away from Whitehaven, but I’ve lived here most of my life,” he told me. “I’ve been with my partner Rachel for 25 years – we’ll hit that milestone in January – and we’ve got two daughters, Alisha and Destiny, both of whom have played football for the club.”
Over nearly 15 years, Campbell has given his time to almost every role possible within Whitehaven AFC. “I’ve been the youth festival organiser, I’ve done the bar, I’m currently the groundsman as a volunteer looking after the senior football pitch and the youth pitch, I’ve supported welfare with our head Child Welfare Officer, and I just generally get on with things. I just enjoy supporting the club and the community.”
But perhaps his most important contribution has been in shaping the club’s female football pathway – something that, when he started, didn’t really exist in Cumbria. “When I looked around the county there were only a handful of girls’ teams and no pathways, so I explored why that was,” he explained. “It was obvious to me that like most youth teams, a parent would step up and follow their child’s team through, but from a club point of view there was no bigger plan. So that’s essentially what I started doing each year – setting up a new Under-7s team, the first in the county to do this. I’d lead and support that team for a year or two, sometimes longer if I got attached, and then I’d pass it on to parents who had been helping.”
That long-term commitment has paid off. “It culminated in us becoming the largest provider of female football in the county and the first and only pathway to have every single age band from Under-6 to senior football covered,” Campbell said proudly. “We even won ‘The Lioness FA Grassroots Award’ in the 22/23 season for our work.”
A Coach by Accident
Despite now leading Whitehaven’s first team, Campbell never set out to be a coach. “It was by pure accident, to be honest – like most people, I suspect,” he laughed. “I loved football, but in my younger days I was actually more into rugby union. I think I’m definitely a better coach than I ever was a player.”
His journey into coaching began around 2012. “A couple of new girls’ teams had started at the club, and my friend mentioned it to me after my daughter took part in a FA session at school,” Campbell recalled. “Initially, it was just meant to be moving some cones about, but at the first session, another new parent was stuck on the motorway, so his wife stepped up to help – and I was suddenly thrown about a dozen girls and a massive white book with Xs and Os in it. I was told to pick a session I liked and get on with it. It was very basic: big lines, take shots, not much more.”
His first match didn’t go well. “I took charge a few days later and we lost 26–0. Their goalkeeper even came out to play outfield and scored five or six goals herself just to help keep the score down. It was a baptism of fire,” he admitted. “But what struck me was that the girls came off smiling and laughing. Their resilience was amazing, even though I wanted the ground to swallow me up. That’s when I knew I had to learn and be the best version of myself as a coach that I could be. It was the best decision I’ve ever made, and I’m still continually trying to improve – driving all over the North East and West to coaching events, and I recently completed my UEFA B licence.”
Taking the Reins
That willingness to step up has been a recurring theme in Campbell’s career at the club. “I just seemed to keep putting my hand up for things,” he joked. “My partner would probably love to tape my arms down sometimes.”
When the person running the girls’ teams had to step away, Campbell was asked to take the lead. “At first it was just attending a few meetings, but I love to get involved,” he explained. “That’s where the idea of a full pathway entered my head, and I started setting up new teams every year. I even joined the FA and then the League as a Girls’ Rep to help grow the competitions. When I first started, we just played friendlies between three clubs and had an end-of-season finals day. Now we’ve got multiple leagues, including different levels.”
His appointment as First Team Manager came more recently, and again through necessity. “We had a bit of a restart at the club,” he said. “We lost some of the management team and players, and the club couldn’t find the right candidate, so they reached out to me. I didn’t want to see the senior setup fall away, so I moved from managing our Senior Ladies ‘A’ Team to the first team. We brought in some new coaches for the A team, who are amazing, and I’ve kept supporting with the Ladies’ Summer League too.”
“It’s an Absolute Dream”
That decision has led Campbell and his squad to one of the biggest milestones in the club’s history – competing in the Women’s FA Cup. “It’s an absolute dream for us,” he said. “It was one of our goals from the start: to get promoted to the level we could qualify. We’re immensely proud, and we hope the extra spotlight inspires our younger Lionesses at the club.”
Preparation has been rigorous. “We’ve asked a lot of players to step up and fill the gap after last season, and I couldn’t ask for more from these lasses,” Campbell said. “They like to play football the right way, they’re enthusiastic and positive, and in a short time we’ve started to build the foundations of a good culture. Their fitness is excellent – they’ve been using sledgehammers to hit tyres, parachute runs, weight bags, and lots and lots of running. We’ve played three pre-season games, winning two and losing one, and a lot of our squad are also playing in the Summer League, where we’re pushing for a final.”
The Underdogs
Whitehaven will host West Allotment Celtic in the Preliminary Round, and Campbell admits there is still much to learn about their opponents. “We don’t know a great deal about them,” he said. “We’ve done a bit of homework, and they look a very well-run club and a good team, which is to be expected. At this level, you don’t get any weak sides. We’re expecting a tough encounter and hoping home advantage makes the difference.”
As for Whitehaven, the First Team is very young. “We’ll only have four players over the age of 20,” Campbell revealed. “The rest are 16- and 17-year-olds. So yes, we’re underdogs – but as Alan Hansen famously got wrong, you can win things with kids. Our younger lasses, coupled with some older heads, will do whatever it takes to maximise their opportunities.”
Spirit, Togetherness, and Leadership
Despite their youth, Campbell is confident in his players’ mentality. “Our biggest strengths are our togetherness and resilience. I don’t have any players who give up. They support each other, they’ll get into the trenches and work hard. And when we click, I believe we play an attractive brand of football.”
Key figures will be vital in guiding the squad through their FA Cup debut. “Vice-Captain Sam Bennett just oozes leadership as well as endeavour and hard work,” Campbell said. “Last year’s Player of the Year, Amber Jackson, is so good technically and a great attacker but also does the dirty work. And Aisha Sandwith is a very powerful player who, when she clicks, can take a game by the scruff of the neck. But really, we pride ourselves on being a team – that comes first.”
The players have also been clear about their mindset. “In the dressing room, my message has been simple: control the controllables. Work hard, be brave, be positive. Bravery isn’t just about tackles, it’s about being brave on the ball, taking shots even if the last one was wild, and being positive in difficult moments. Mistakes don’t bother me – I’m asking them to do challenging things, and that’s how they’ll grow.”
More Than a Match
For Whitehaven AFC Women, this FA Cup tie is about more than just a single fixture. “It means a great deal,” Campbell reflected. “It’s the most prestigious competition we will play. When we watch the final later in the season, we’ll take pride in knowing we were part of that. To represent our club in this competition is a huge honour. Some of our girls have been here since they were six or seven years old, so I know there’ll be a lot of excitement.”
And if they were to make history and win their first-ever FA Cup game? “It would give us real belief,” Campbell said. “This is essentially a new team with a new coaching setup, so to win would show we can compete at this level. It would be a huge boost.”
But, ever the pragmatist, he’s careful to manage expectations. “This is a year of transition. The squad is very young, and most of them have moved up two divisions. Our first objective is simply to complete all our fixtures and finish one above bottom to avoid relegation. That’s the minimum. But I also believe we’ll get stronger as the season goes on. Our pathway keeps delivering excellent players, and we’re attracting talent from elsewhere too. So who knows? A league cup run would be nice.”
“No Guts, No Glory”
Whatever happens, Campbell is clear about the long-term benefits. “You can’t buy experience,” he said. “What we go through on Sunday will propel the players’ development. We don’t want easy games – we want tough, challenging situations so we can grow. Our motto is ‘no guts, no glory,’ and the success always tastes better when you’ve earned it.”
That motto sums up Campbell himself: a man who fell into coaching by accident but has since built a pathway for girls’ football in Cumbria, held together a club through difficult times, and now stands ready to lead Whitehaven into its first-ever Women’s FA Cup campaign.
And as he put it with a smile: “We’re excited. Very excited.”
