Overview: whilst progress, or perceived progress, is fantastic, there are some things that are worth discussing and critiquing to establish value and consider the motives behind actions.
1. If you win the World Cup bid and create a Head of Women’s Football, are you genuine about development?
Background:
In a year which has seemed to bring many challenges to all our lives in ways we didn’t expect or think possible, something else happened that previously didn’t seem like it would happen in our lifetime: the FIFA World Cup was awarded to the As One 2023 bid. Football’s greatest stage is coming Down Under. This is something that still seems surreal and no matter how many times we watch the announcement video it is still as exciting and unbelievable as the moment itself.
Now the initial celebrations have subsided, we start to look to the planning and practicalities that arise from winning the bid. There is immense hype from the sport’s governing body in both Australia and New Zealand about the many benefits this great event will bring to developing the Women’s Game in the region and the lasting legacy it can setup.
But there are some things that don’t quite add up.
Discussion:
If you were actually wanting develop a women’s program as part of growing your club and the sport in your community or state, would you want to recruit for your new Head of Women’s Football role in an open and transparent process?
In this process, would you want to encourage women to apply who are not necessarily from a coaching background but who have project management, sports management, and/or sports development role experience? Would this solidify your commitment to developing the program from a female perspective with the best interests and understanding of girls and women at its core.
Would it make more of a statement to not only be the first to introduce the role, but to also appoint a female leader in order to underpin your values of developing equal opportunities for girls and women in a historically male-dominated sphere?
Having provided a clear position description and recruited in your open and transparent process, your new Head of Women’s Football would be supported across all facets in a clearly outlined project map by the coaches and experts for the sport side of things: coaches, sports scientists, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. Having a strong project manager would enable development through other channels that may open up further opportunities such as sponsorship, exposure, revenue that will build the program further and enable it to grow as well as be sustainable.
Alternatively, knowing that winning the bid will mean funding is distributed to clubs with women’s programs, you could skip advertising for the role and just get straight to the announcement. By appointing the current head coach (male), you can bring in another of the assistant coaches (male) as the new head coach and beat everyone to become the first club with a Head of Women’s Football. Nobody quite knows the responsibilities or scope of this new role, but the funding this will secure for the club is more important.
Consider:
Even if we have the best interests at heart, how will this be perceived from the outside?
What are we trying to convey?
What will this say about our values?
Decide:
What would you choose? An option discussed above, or a different path entirely?
The But Kickers 