Our Open Access co-founder and star keeper Julie Leaff played her last game of competitive football in the Super5 league last night.

The Open Access co-founder Ellie Guedella wrote this well-deserved tribute.

Aged 55, Julie has finally decided to put down the gloves and N16 WFC will no longer have her safe hands behind us. We wish her all the best and will always enjoy the memories of the moments and many of those cat like crazy saves.

N16, which Julie helped found and which dragged me back to football, is a ‘vintage’ team and we often play teams who are young enough to be our children. N16 is also one of the founding 6 teams of the Super5 league.

N16 have won the Advanced B Super5 division and Julie won her fourth Golden Glove award, pictured above.

Julie and her family are Man City supporters and she was a junior Blue in the time of Peter Barnes and Colin Bell. This is the time of the women’s football ban.

Her only option was to play with the boys so her brother named her little Trev so no one would ask questions and they got on with it.

Fast forward to 2012 and she helped establish N16 WFC who went on to reach two FA People’s Cup 5-a-side finals, taking one cup home. Their trophies are displayed at The Shakespeare on Allen Rd N16 your welcome to take a look.

None of it could have happened without those legendary safe hands and that infectious laugh. Huge thanks to Julie for those amazing far too many to list moments and huge thanks for the time and support given to developing players at Open Access now that football has opened up somewhat and CCFC has come home.