Western Springs Football Club: Senior female leader quit committee because of treatment of women - exclusive

Western Springs coach Ryan Faithfull during the Women's National League Championship 2022 Final last year. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

A woman who served in a leadership role at Western Springs Football Club quit her committee position over dissatisfaction with the treatment of females at the club.

The revelation comes after an investigation by the Herald found the Auckland club’s Premier Women’s team was facing a squad exodus of senior players because of a long-standing dispute that left female players feeling “completely disrespected” by the “highly misogynistic behaviour” of the club’s predominantly male board.

The club and players were due to have a mediation session tonight.

Concerns about how the women’s teams are supported have simmered for months.

The woman who left her role in a club committee two months ago said: “I joined the committee as a champion for girls and women’s football. I was there to drive that but felt there was no opportunity to do that within the committee.

“They had such a male lens across everything,” said the woman who didn’t want to be named.

The Western Springs website shows that across the club’s junior, senior and executive committees, there are five women and 21 men.

“There’s great support from the committee – organising club days, ground clean-ups, maintenance, meals for players, and they would come to the women’s game; but there was no strategic direction from the committee for ensuring equality for the women.

“It’s dreadful that Springs has been brought into this – because it’s actually not about that, it’s about the current group of people involved and the way they run the club.”

The woman said she stood down from the committee because she couldn’t spend any more time pushing a purpose that was never listened to. There were some members on the committee who were pushing for equity but not enough to make the difference needed.

“They won’t listen to anyone new,” she said. “It was constantly defensive behaviour.”

“It felt pretty patronising.

“For me, it felt like: ‘Just go away – you’re annoying us’, from the heads of the committees at the club.”

A second woman, Lisa Webb, an architect who volunteered her services to help with plans to redevelop the club’s facilities for the Women’s World Cup, recalls an uncomfortable meeting in early 2021, which she labelled as: “The most bewildering and humiliating experience of my professional career.”

She said: “I went as part of a group to present proposals for the redevelopment of the clubhouse to the board,” said Webb. “Our proposal had the concepts of inclusivity, community and accessibility at its heart.

“We argued that reconstituting the beer-soaked, boy’s bar into a family-friendly environment would better serve the wider community of the club and increase revenue.”

Webb said: “We were shown the door.”

The club has been approached for comment.