BRADFORD City’s die hard female fans are the inspiration for a new exhibition opening next month.

City Girls at the National Science and Media Museum is the culmination of a two-year photographic project which has captured the passion, commitment and energy of the fans.

The black and white photographs were taken by Nudrat Afza, a Bradfordian who was drawn to the club’s female supporters after a chance invitation to watch a game revealed to her a previously unknown world of excitement and emotion.

The exhibition will highlight over 70 images by Mrs Afza, who moved to the city from Pakistan in the 1960s.

She said: “In the 1960s and 70s there was a lot of racism on the football terraces in England, so cricket was the game I grew up with and I knew nothing about football.”

Three years ago she discovered how much had changed when friends of her daughter invited them to a game.

She said: “It was incredible, but I had no idea what to do. I just sat there and one of the male Asian stewards was looking at me, smiling, because he knew I was so far outside my comfort zone.”

Seeing the other women cheering, singing and shouting had a massive impact, and gave Mrs Afza and her friends the idea for a photography project.

After “speculative correspondence” with Keighley-born Oscar-winning screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, who scripted Slumdog Millionaire, The Full Monty and recent release Battle of the Sexes, he provided her with a Hasselblad XPan film camera for the project.

She then received permission from Bradford City to take photos of the crowd inside the ground, around the same time as one of the club’s most recent high points – beating Chelsea 2-4 at Stamford Bridge in the 2015 FA Cup fourth round.

She added: “It was a magical time for the club, and I was really taken in by the way the scenes would completely change each week. The pictures would be completely different and the facial expressions would be different. It made me think how exciting photography is. I feel so fortunate to have be there at that time, and not only that - now I can stand and shout along with the rest of the fans.

“Bradford, like many UK cities, has a well-known football team with thousands of loyal fans and it’s good to see the museum both reflects and draws strength from the culture and context of its location.”

The exhibition starts on November 17, and runs until June.