‘We want to live in a society where the most widely-read newspaper is one that respects women’.

Cheltenham Town Ladies FC has joined the nationwide campaign No More Page 3 (NMP3) asking to the editor of the Sun to stop showing the Page 3 topless images and to start representing women with respect.

No More Page 3 decided to start a Just Giving page to raise £2025.00 to buy Cheltenham Town Ladies FC football kits with the No More Page 3 logo on it – and at the time of writing have raised over £8,500.

Both the team and the campaign organisers felt it would be incredibly powerful to see women playing football and saying No More Page 3.

The Sun is a paper renowned for sport, yet instead of encouraging girls and women to take part in sport, it encourages them to do nothing more than take their clothes off for men.

Writing in Football Beyond Borders, NMP3’s Lisa Clarke said, ‘We need to show our young women and girls the achievements they could aim for.

“If they don’t see sportswomen portrayed what do they see instead that they can aspire to?

“Is it any wonder so few women take up sport or exercise of any sort while so many girls worry about their weight and appearance?’

First-team player Natalie Berry and development team captain and central mid-fielder Joanne Lenton first got involved with No More Page 3 when they decided to raise awareness of the online campaign.

And they wrote on the No More Page 3 site, ‘We feel we have shared beliefs with the No More Page 3 team and the thousands of supporters of their campaign – we want to raise awareness of women’s issues and our club actively encourages women and girls to get involved in sport. This is really important to us – we want young girls to be inspired by fellow athletes like Jessica Ennis and we don’t want them to view themselves as objects.’

Team chairman Andy Liddle then said if No More Page 3 raised £2,000, the campaign’s logo could be printed on their football strip.

Berry told the Gloucester Echo: “The Page 3 feature was introduced in the 1970s but I think we have moved on from those days.

“The nature of the industry means that people, including children, are exposed to it and, although we do not think it should be banned completely, it should be governed which publications can print photos like this.

“It undermines the image sportswomen like us create.”

The team’s involvement comes after a letter signed by 150 MPs was sent to The Sun newspaper requesting that it removes its Page 3 feature.

It read: “The largest female image in our most widely-read newspaper is of a semi-naked young woman. She is there purely for the sexual gratification of men. This is unacceptable.

“We want to live in a society where the most widely-read newspaper is one that respects women. Instead, The Sun publishes Page 3, which reduces women to objects. It reduces men to objectifiers. And it reduces this country to one that upholds 1970s sexist values.”