East London Ladies FC and MOLO have teamed up to celebrate one woman’s impact on grassroots football over the last decade; in their new documentary ‘The New Gaffer’.
[London, January 2025] – With the UEFA Women’s Euro’s 2025 fastly approaching, since 2022 there has been a significant increase in interest for women’s football – with Sport England reporting that 10,300 more women and girls playing football in grassroots clubs. East London Ladies is one team that has been at the forefront of this wave, receiving thousands of applicants per year, more than fully staffed teams can handle let alone one woman.
Football storytelling platform MOLO, has partnered with the club to highlight the contributions and impact Co-Founder, Manager and Lead Coach Viv Jeffers has made on the game since 2014. Providing service to 2 – 45+ year olds with her Little Dribbles team right up to her mum squad.
In the 10 minute documentary titled ‘The New Gaffer’ Viv shares her story, where she details her journey as a player, transition into coaching and the legacy she has been building in her community, which has enriched hundreds of girls and women in London. All of this is done off her own back and on a voluntary basis, 150+ girls and women per week are supported and coached by Viv.
We learn about her entry point to football and how she became a goalkeeper at school for the boys. Eager to play in a time when it was not as accessible to find girl teams and categorised as a ‘boy’ sport. We hear from her players and how she’s influenced and changed their lives along with her coaching and community, with 4 players currently playing professionally. Plus the reality of what it means to be a WOC coach in 2025, as popularity and interest for the women’s game has soared in recent years.
In 2024 she celebrated 10 years with East London Ladies FC, received the London FA’s Grassroots Club of the Year award and was nominated by Sky Bet Football as number 1. In 2025 she’s regarded as the Godmother of grassroots women’s football and you might be wondering how this one woman balances 11 teams, hundreds of people, plays, trains and teaches football by herself all for the love of the game.
The New Gaffer documentary will drop exclusively with MOLO, Youtube at 12pm on 31st January. With the overall campaign running till Friday 14th February 2025.
