Sarah Aitchison is cycling to every Sutton United Women away league match this season. The fundraiser has reached £610 of its £1,000 target from 21 donations.
A Sutton United supporter has started cycling to every away league match the club’s women’s team plays this season, to raise money for the team.
Sarah Aitchison rode to Aylesford in Kent on Sunday for the first fixture. Sutton won 2-1, with both goals from Emma Spear in the second half. It was the club’s opening game in the London and South East Regional League. (Sutton United match report)
The fundraising page had reached £610 of a £1,000 target from 21 donations when we checked on 26 August. (GoFundMe)
Aitchison, who is the club’s HerGameToo representative, did the same thing for the men’s first team in the 2010-11 season, cycling to every away league game to raise money for the community pavilion. (Sutton United)
Why the team is raising money
In the club’s announcement, Aitchison sets out what the fundraiser is and is not for. The club already covers the basics.
“Sutton United supports its women’s section by covering essential costs such as training facilities, match pitches and basic equipment, but the financial landscape across the women’s game is far from level,” she says.
She points at two specific problems. The first is competition. “Some clubs at this level benefit from substantial backing through Premier League or EFL organisations, giving them access to resources and infrastructure that independent clubs simply cannot match.”
The second is the ground. Sutton United Women have played home fixtures at several different venues because of a limit on how many matches can be played at Gander Green Lane, and some of those venues are outside the borough. Aitchison says that has made it hard to build a regular crowd or a steady matchday income.
The money raised is earmarked for things above the baseline: player preparation, performance analysis, recovery, nutrition, travel and matchday support.
How to support it
The club lists three ways:
- a one-off donation through the GoFundMe page
- sponsoring a set amount for each away match completed
- pledging an amount for every kilometre cycled
The club gives an example for the third option. A pledge of 5p per kilometre would come to roughly £26.30 across the season, though it notes the total can move either way if routes change.
Sponsorship and per-kilometre pledges are arranged by email through the club rather than the fundraising page. Donations can be made at any point up to the end of the season.
What it means for you
The men’s first team’s next home game is Wealdstone on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August at 3pm, and we have written separately about Sutton United’s start to the season. The women’s team is a different proposition: a regional league, no fixed home ground, and, on this evidence, a supporter on a bicycle making up part of the funding gap.
Sutton Online has no connection to Sutton United and takes no commission on donations. The figures above are from the club’s own announcement and the public fundraising page, and were correct on 26 August 2026.
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