Last year, I was advised to protect myself and not speak out when Reading’s owners made the decision to self-relegate us from the Championship. I followed that advice. But after the confirmation that Blackburn Rovers are taking the same path, I believe it’s time to speak out.
As players we were blindsided by the decision of the club to withdraw us from the Championship. We had felt positive throughout the season, we knew we had by far the lowest budget in the league but we felt like the underdogs going into every game, and so there was no pressure on us. It was a miracle we avoided relegation.
Right up until our last week of training, our manager and the general manager were telling us that the proposals for how the club would meet the new minimum standards being brought in for WSL2, the renamed Championship, next season had been put together. The club were supposedly submitting the minimum budget that would hit the new criteria. The budget would need to increase five-fold or six-fold from £100,000, but in the context of an alleged £45m budget for the men’s team that did not seem unreasonable.
On the Thursday before we played Newcastle in our final game of the season, the coaches were still feeling positive; the owners were set to come in for talks and to sign off on the plans, and one-to-one meetings with players had already been scheduled for Monday for discussions on contract extensions and each individual’s future.
I was a little more cautious than some of my teammates given this wasn’t my first time in limbo having been at Reading when the women’s team were withdrawn from the Championship last year. That it was all being left so late rang alarm bells. Sure enough, when we came back in on Saturday ahead of the final game, the tone had completely changed. The team talk for Sunday was all about how the dressing room was never going to look the same and that we were playing for ourselves and not the club.
The players clocked on to the fact that all wasn’t right at that point, but a week went past and we still had no news. Our one-to-ones were cancelled without any further information, and on the Monday of the public announcement of the withdrawal the owners called a meeting at short notice with the coaching staff telling them that it would be live within an hour. Our coach messaged us to tell us to jump on a call regarding what was going on.
We’ve had very little contact from the owners about their intentions since, bar a very basic last-minute email from HR. . We have no idea what the future looks like, what tier the club is going to enter in at or what redundancies there will be from a staffing point of view. We have so many unanswered questions and there is a lot of anxiety within the group.
This is not as an emotional response to one club but a call for football to do better and protect our game. This isn’t a one-off and, coming so soon after Reading’s situation, shows that change is needed. Not enough attention has been paid to how we can stop this from happening again. I want to protect the women’s game more than I want to protect myself.
Did Reading receive enough criticism last year? Should there have been sanctions? Did their actions make it acceptable for clubs like Blackburn to U-turn on their women’s teams and submit £0 budgets? Could they be encouraged or required to sell the women’s side to new investors rather than self-relegate? Reading Women had multiple offers to be bought out. There are legitimate investors out there who see the long-term potential in women’s sport. Outdated mentalities are holding us back and too much is being done to accommodate and keep owners happy. They are being allowed to make excuses as to why they won’t invest. Don’t get me wrong, for many that buy into men’s clubs the women’s team is an add on that comes with it. If you don’t care, step aside gracefully and let someone else invest the money, time, and passion. You can then miss out on the rewards.
And does the “fit and proper owners” test have a category for the women’s team? When owners pass this test to take on the men’s team is there any requirement for their intention to invest in the women’s team, because we are always the first thing to be sacrificed?
In the club statement, the fans were blamed for low attendance. But fans are frustrated with the owners – they aren’t attending the men’s games either. There’s also been a complete lack of investment in marketing and advertising for the women’s games. You can’t expect fans to turn up without a proper strategy. Emma Clark, head of commercial, worked tirelessly to bring in new sponsors, but her creativity and ambition were constantly restrained.
Blackburn’s academy has produced countless internationals, such as Ella Toone, Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway. The next one now has no pathway to professional football. Talented girls will have to leave just to have a shot at progressing. That may mean traveling over an hour to places like Manchester, often during GCSEs or A-levels.
The minimum standards being brought in by WSL Football, the body in charge of the WSL and WSL2, are a positive step forward. They include a minimum salary. For someone my age, that would be £27,000. This year, I was only paid £15,000 – less than minimum wage. Many of my teammates were on £9,000 or less. But because our training day was condensed, and we had to leave the ground after lunch, the hours just about kept it classed as “part-time” despite what can be considered full-time demands. These new rules will force owners to run women’s teams properly.
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Another improvement: this year, the deadline for decisions regarding self-relegation was brought forward. We’re finding out in May, not July, as was the case at Reading. That gives players and staff more time to find new clubs and allows the league time to replace us in order to maintain 12 teams. Last year’s late decision left the league with an odd number.
Despite it all, the Championship – WSL2 – is growing every year, Newcastle versus Sunderland had a record attendance of 38,502 while clubs like London City and Birmingham have budgets over £1m already.
Saying this, the women’s game remains fragile. We need owners and investors who see the long-term gain and are willing to risk their time and money on something truly special. You can’t under-invest, neglect the team, and then expect to profit when the sport becomes more lucrative. Either invest – or let someone else do it properly.
This is an expanded version of a call to action posted on LinkedIn by Rachel Dugdale
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