Women’s Football in England is at a crossroads and players and clubs need to make a decision about which way the game should go. Join us in our call for a Special General Meeting (SGM)
In its 150th year, the FA has put its vision for accelerating and improving player development paths in the
Women's game at the centre of its overall strategy. The ‘Game Changer’ strategy however is taking a
significant turn that we feel must be fully debated before going ahead. The FA is now choosing to focus on just the 18 WSL teams at the expense of the 72 teams who will be left in the remainder of the league
structure.
Following her recent appointment as the FA’s Director of the National Game and Women’s Football, Kelly Simmons said of the FA’s renewed focus on the women’s game: "It’s a real chance to have its moment in the spotlight because, at the end of the day, 98 per cent of football is played by children and in the grass roots game. It’s by far the nation’s biggest game. "
So WHY, we are asking, does Game Changer focus on just 18 teams?
We have an alternative
. And we want a Special General Meeting (SGM) to debate Game Changer versus our alternative 'Every Player Counts'. Ours is an approach that will be a more effective and cost-efficient way to achieve a more widespread player development route and create pathways for new players. In short, it will respect and deliver on the women’s game as a NATIONAL, GRASSROOTS movement and not an elite sport for the wealthy few. And it will ultimately better serve the England national team by helping to develop many more English players.
Every Player Counts works by investing in the existing national network of women's clubs to build on their work and reputations rather than cut them adrift. It's also worth noting that it's clear from Women’s Premier League (WPL) players' reactions so far, the absence of promotion from WPL to Women’s Super League (WSL) in the Game Changer strategy is a huge demotivator to their development and may even
cause some to leave the game. With this in mind we have therefore developed an alternative proposal and are now making an urgent call to action.
So what can be done?
We propose that, rather than throwing the Women’s Premier League under the bus, the FA should, in fact, be looking to retain the WPL and invest
MORE in its growth both in finance and management, as they have learned already how necessary it is to support the lower leagues in the men’s game. Below is a brief summary of our Every Player Counts strategy to retain the FA WPL and build the game nationally for the benefit of ALL players, clubs, business partners, fans and the future.
AT THIS STAGE, YOU DON’T HAVE TO SUPPORT OUR ‘EVERY PLAYER COUNTS’ STRATEGY.
WE ARE ONLY ASKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN CALLING A SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING (SGM).
Why your support is needed to call an SGM:
1. Rule 19 states that we simply need two thirds of the WPL member clubs to present a requisition to the current League Secretary who must then convene a SGM.
2. At that SGM we will present our alternative ‘Every Player Counts’ strategy and we will invite the FA to present their ‘Game Changer’ plan.
3. We need a majority of 18 out of the 22 clubs minimum (the committee can also vote and therefore can affect the vote), which is why we need 2 club officials from each team.
4. Please send an email to jack@saveourwpl.com with 2 of your club official’s names in support the above proposal
5. As soon as we have two thirds we will contact the League Secretary as per league rules to request a
SGM to take place before the inaugural AGM in early February 2014.
PLEASE ACT NOW SO WE CAN HAVE A SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING – IT’S THE LEAST WE ALL DESERVE.
Added to this release is more background information on the situation and a summary of ‘Every Player
Counts’ versus ‘Game Changer’.
Thank You.
Jack Lewis
– Save Our WPL
Twitter:
@SaveOurWPL
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