The North West’s only women’s American football team has been set up in Chester.

The Chester Romans Ladies, who are looking to follow in the footsteps of their male counterparts and establish local roots for the game, are on the lookout for players to add to their ranks.

The team, which will operate a scaled-down, five-on-five side for players aged 16 and over, have started up in response to the growing popularity of the game in the UK and will be taking on teams from across the North of England.

Amanda Staples, 28, from Wirral, has been a driving force behind getting the team started, after falling in love with the sport through her husband Tom’s involvement as a player with the Romans’ senior side, who were crowned champions of the National Central Division in 2013.

“In recent years the game in this country has started to get a lot bigger and we thought that now was the time to get a women’s Romans side started up,” said Amanda, a fan of NFL side Pittsburgh Steelers.

“My husband Tom plays as a defensive back for the Romans so I really started to get into the sport after meeting him. We watch a lot of NFL at home.

“I’ve been interested in getting a women’s team set up for some time and we’ve already got nine people signed up.

“We’re the only women’s side in the North West and we’re now looking at getting some more players signed on so that we can start taking on some competitive games against some of the more established women’s sides in the country.”

The women’s team have been helped in their efforts to get up and running by the Romans’ men’s side, who play at Chester Rugby Club’s Hare Lane stadium, by loaning them equipment and helping with coaching.

“The help we have received from the Romans has been great and has really help us get started,” added Amanda.

“One of the most difficult aspects is funding and we’re looking to get sponsors to help us get our own equipment so that we can start to grow the club and establish ourselves.

“You can see how popular the game is now by the amount of people who are talking about it and watching things like the Superbowl.

“If we can tap in to that interest and get some girls coming down to take part, that would be fantastic.”