THREE age groups will represent Bradford City Women at the West Riding Girls’ Cup Finals Day in May after an incredibly successful weekend for the club.

City had seven teams at Wetherby Athletic over Saturday and Sunday competing in the cup semi-finals for their age grades.

That showed the progress made by the club’s junior section over the last few seasons, with wins for the under-10s, under-12s and under-13s being a real bonus.

The results were the icing on the cake for City, who have seen four of their under-18s team make senior debuts in the last month.

It’s exactly what development officer Charlotte Stuart and current under-13s boss Paul Scott have been working towards since they began to reinvent the club’s youth set-up four years ago.

And following his side’s 6-1 victory over North East Leeds Lionesses on Saturday, Scott believes this gives everyone at the club reason to be excited.

“I don't think anyone could have envisioned what has happened at the club,” he admitted.

“From our first session with five girls to now having teams competing from under-10s to under-18s.

“The fact we had seven teams in semi-finals shows the quality that we’ve attracted in such a short period of time and is down to the hard work of all our coaches.

“Everyone’s ambition for the development of the girls and the club is infectious.”

Scott praised the “excellent football and character” shown by all of City’s girls at the weekend, especially that seen by the under-12s.

Rearrangement of the team’s fixture meant only eight of their 16-player squad could make Sunday’s nine-a-side game with table-topping Guiseley.

However, the eight girls showed incredible desire and attitude to overcome all odds and defeat their opposition 4-1, despite being a player light for the entire match.

Meanwhile, Qasim Akhtar’s under-10s completed the trio as they defeated Horsforth 3-1 to make May’s final in the team’s first season.

“When we started four years ago, our main objective was to create a clear pathway from juniors to seniors,” Scott said.

“After this weekend – and with the under-18s looking comfortable making that step up to the reserves – it shows we are heading in the right direction.

“I believe the hard work has just begun. We now have great foundations to build on and push our junior set-up to our overall goal of becoming a Regional Talent Centre.”