As a condition of receiving the funding the club committed to implement 50 per cent female representation on governance committees; ensure females have equal access to facilities and ensure equal support in equipment and coaching staff.
The club did not reply to Herald queries as to whether these targets had been met, and has not responded to questions from the Herald since the story first emerged on May 13.
The club and the women’s premier team have been in mediation this week over concerns the players expressed about gender equity. The mediation is believed to have run for 12 hours on Tuesday and resumed on Friday.
The funding agreement calls on the club to “develop a Charter and implement and refine it (and report on progress/learnings)”.
New Zealand Football (NZF) and Northern Region Football (NRF) were to support all clubs receiving funding for upgrades to “develop and refine initiatives and programmes” in local communities.
The agreement signed by Western Springs commits to gender objectives, including:
• 50 per cent female representation on governance committees;
• Governance representation that aligns with community diversity;
• Females have equal access to training fields, match fields, changing rooms, etc;
• Females receive equal support and provision for training equipment and coaching, food, travel, sponsorship, etc;
• Acknowledgement of the historical inequity between investment in female vs male football and commitment to address issues proactively;
• Equal representation of genders in imagery used by the club.
These plans were to be developed within Year 1 of the agreement, which was signed by the club’s executive chairman Grant Ramsay. The agreement was signed on 21 December 2022. From Year 2 onwards, the club is required to implement and refine the plan and report on progress and learnings.
Ramsay and senior committee chairman, Tony Jones, did not respond to requests for comment on whether these principles had been implemented.
Today, on the Western Springs website there are six females filling roles in the 29 seats across the club’s three committees. When the Herald first covered this story, there were four women in committee roles.
Players claimed they were treated unequally by the “highly misogynistic” predominately male board. One of the issues raised by the players was the lack of female representation on the club’s committee. The women also were advocating for a seat for a player representative.
The women told the Herald their teams would often be the “last choice” for training and matches on the club’s No 1 artificial field. They said the senior men’s team, who didn’t qualify for the National League finishing sixth in Auckland, would always get the first choice to use the better facilities.
New Zealand Football and Northern Region Football did not respond to requests for comment about the funding documents.
