Everton will play Lewes in their 5th round FA Cup game on Sunday. The Rockettes are a unique team making big waves in the third tier of women’s football, the Women’s Premier League South.

They are a fan-owned football club that began paying its women’s team and men’s team equally at the beginning of this season, possibly the first football club in the world to do so.

Ever wanted to be a part owner of a football club? Do you have 30 pounds to spare? Well, here’s your chance!

The club’s director, Jacquie Agnew, explained their Equality FC campaign:

At Lewes FC we believe that there should be a level playing field for women in football. By committing to paying our women’s and men’s teams equally, and providing equal resource for coaching, training and facilities, we hope to spark a change across the UK that will help put an end to the excuses for why such a deep pay disparity has persisted in our sport.

Together with our owners, donors and sponsors, Lewes FC can show that equal pay can be implemented to the benefit of both women and men in sport and beyond.

The investment is paying off, as the team has been racking up wins against bigger names like West Ham and Crystal Palace. In December, they beat Bexhill United 15-0. Their aim is to get to the top tier of women’s football and they currently sit in fourth place in their league.

The community is very excited to play against a WSL 1 team and the whole town might show up:

Lewes captain Kate McIntyre told Royal Blue Mersey:

“Everyone at Lewes FC is really looking forward to this game, it is going to be a very good test for us as a team and individually but we are ready. We’ve had a good run of results lately and our performances are only getting stronger, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Lewes manager, John Donoghue, noted in the match programme:

“Everton are a class act. I’m delighted to see our squad coming into this game on a good run of form. Last Sunday’s win away to Charlton shows how far the team has come and how we’ve grown as a squad throughout the season. The cup runs we’ve been on have created momentum and that’s shown in our results.”

This will be the first time the Rockettes have ever made it to the 5th round of the FA Cup but they are still looking for a major upset over the Blues. The manager promised a competitive game:

“We will go full throttle and look to win the game.”

Everton are coming off of a two game winning streak and will be looking to make it a third. Courtney Sweetman-Kirk and Chloe Kelly both scored in the last game and it’s very likely we will see them on the score sheet yet again on Sunday.

Prediction:

4-1, Everton

Match Details:

@EvertonLadies vs @LewesFCWomen in the @SSEWomensFACup

Sunday, February 18th

2:00 pm (local) 9:00 am (ET)

The Dripping Pan