CEO Mark Ashton hopes Town can stage a women’s international once the Portman Road pitch has been renovated next summer.

England Women’s success in the Euros in the summer was the footballing highlight of the summer and has led to increased interest in the women’s game in this country.

“I think once we’ve got the new pitch down, that’s when we can start to look at things like that,” Ashton said at last night’s Fans’ Forum having been asked whether the club might be up for hosting the Lionesses.

“We’d love to get a women’s international here, I think that would be fantastic for the club, fantastic for the area.

“And I know [Ipswich Town Women’s manager] Joe [Sheehan] would like to get a women’s first-team game here.

“We’ve got challenges with the pitch, we made that really clear last season. We’ve done a lot of work in the summer to try and get through this season and the project has already started now to relay the pitch for next season.

“But once we’ve got that hybrid pitch in, it will allow us to do much more things like that.”

Town has previously staged one senior men’s international, the 3-1 victory over Croatia in August 2003.

The last England game at Portman Road was the men’s U21 international in October 2013 which ended in a 5-0 victory over Lithuania, while Switzerland (1980, 5-0), Romania (1985, 3-0), Albania (1989, 2-0) and the Czech Republic (1998, 0-1) having also visited Suffolk for internationals at that level. An U23 match against Switzerland was hosted in 1972.

In 2001/02, the England U19s beat Germany 3-1 with Darren Bent scoring twice and then-Town teammate Matt Bloomfield appearing as a substitute.

The ground also played host to a 1959 pre-Olympic Games friendly between Great Britain and the Caribbean FA ahead of the 1960 Games in Rome. It was also the venue for a hockey international fought out by Great Britain and West Germany in the summer of 1968.

Currently the Town women’s team play their games at Felixstowe & Walton’s AGL Arena but despite that there is a close link between the men’s and women’s sides of the club.

“We’re very, very grateful for Felixstowe & Walton’s help and their support,” Ashton continued. “You talk about the women’s team, tell me another football club whose first-team play followed by the women’s team [at AFC Wimbledon in this summer’s friendlies] and the men’s first-team manager stays after the game and sits on the bench with the women’s first-team manager and talks them through the game.

“That’s incredible. That’s Ipswich. That’s different, that’s community, that’s this football club.

“That isn’t asked of Kieran to do things like that, that’s the genuine person he is, who wants to help and assist, and I just think that is something that we don’t talk enough about.

“It’s really special to this football club, the women’s team’s really important to us and we’ll continue to support Joe as best we can.”

McKenna paid tribute to Sheehan: “Joe’s a very good coach as well and I learn from his as well. We talk about football, he comes to watch a lot of our training, he’s got his own good ideas as well.

“He’s a good contact for me at the training ground. When he comes out on the pitch we keep him busy and there’s always a job for him, and he gets involved in the sessions. He’s a good, bright young coach as well and a good one to have in the club.”

Are there aspects of the way the women’s team play that the men can learn from? “I think there are some similarities between the playing styles now, I’ve been speaking to Joe about this a little bit and they’ve adapted a few little tweaks to the system and a few little things that we do and we share some ideas and he watches all our sessions and takes things and puts into them.

“I think there’s commonalities now across the styles between the two teams. I think they were better than us at set plays but we’re working to catch up with them on that, but again he’s a very good coach.

“I think they’ve obviously got a very young squad and he’s had to renew that again this season. That’s another rebuilding project for him and developing a lot of young players in the first team, which is a great challenge for him, but he’s enjoying it and I think the girls will give it everything they can to have another successful season.”

Photo: ITFC

Suffolkboy added 11:04 - Sep 6 I believe there was also a Hockey International staged at P Rd in 1972 ! If my memory is correct there was also a ‘B ‘ international late 1950's / very early 1960's staged in the evening but abandoned because of fog ; I think John Elsworthy figured in that team . No doubt someone else will have accurate recall ! COYB
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MedwayTractor added 12:09 - Sep 6 When the 1968 hockey international was being played, the old East stand was being dismantled before going to Foxhall speedway stadium.
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Radlett_blue added 12:13 - Sep 6 29th June 1968 - England v West Germany. Bully-off 3pm.
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Westy added 12:50 - Sep 6 There has also been an England v Belgium Schoolboy international. Can't remember the exact year but still got the programme somewhere.
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Europablue added 14:14 - Sep 6 I'm still waiting for the Ed Sheeran PR concert!
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BobbyBell added 14:52 - Sep 6 England v Croatia 2003 at Portman Road.
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Dissboyitfc added 20:51 - Sep 6 Mentioned in the story Bobby!
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clivebleedingthomas added 16:31 - Sep 7 I attended a rugby match played at Portman Road on 1st March 1954. On that date they beat a South Eastern Counties select team by 21 points to 13.The New Zealand All Blacks were on a world tour that lasted several months. It was a strange experience watching rugby being played on our hallowed turf.
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clivebleedingthomas added 16:37 - Sep 7 My post should have read: I attended a rugby match played at Portman Road on 1st March 1954. The New Zealand All Blacks were on a world tour that lasted several months. On that date they beat a South Eastern Counties select team by 21 points to 13. It was a strange experience watching rugby being played on our hallowed turf.
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