Why won't clubs invest properly in their Women's Super League teams?

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Poor pitches, low wages and conditions far behind the men’s teams’ are common problems – and that needs to change

 

The bubble is bursting. Professionalism has pushed the Women’s Super League to new heights, but that growth has stretched to the limit the infrastructures, personnel and, let’s face it, the commitment of those involved in the game’s development.

Although the postponement of all six games on Sunday was unavoidable, as storm Ciara battered Britain, the scattergun cancellation of eight games before that was not; because the pitches WSL teams play on are, overwhelming, not fit to host top-level professional teams. Birmingham’s home ground, Damson Park, the home of National League Solihull Moors, has seen two games abandoned. Prenton Park, where Liverpool Women and League One Tranmere Rovers play, is a bog and has also seen two women’s games called off. To avoid further chaos Liverpool’s game against Arsenal on Thursday has been moved to Chester. So hard has it been to find a ground for the sister team of the likely Premier League champions that they are resorting to a pitch which straddles the Welsh border, 26 miles from Anfield.

 

Tottenham, who play at National League Barnet’s The Hive, have had one game postponed. As have West Ham, who play at their Rush Green training ground, Everton, who play at National League North Southport’s ground, and Bristol City, who play at the Stoke Gifford stadium.

The players and fans deserve better. Yes, clubs have committed to token games at their main stadiums; all bar Manchester United, Arsenal and Birmingham have hosted league games at their primary stadiums this term. Those gestures deserve to be applauded and celebrated. But professionalism has accelerated the change and clubs are failing to keep up with the demands that that change brings. This is not about sharing main stadiums, yet. But it is time to question what is holding clubs back from properly investing in their women’s teams.

Committing to funding drainage systems or pitch heaters at the ground their teams play on should be a no-brainier. Quality surfaces protect players. These are, on the whole, extremely wealthy clubs. That women’s teams at present operate at a loss should not be an issue. The trickle of resources should be flowing more freely and that the tap is not being turned is a choice.

Being kind, perhaps they have been caught off guard by the demand. But these are not the only wrongs that need righting. Short-term contracts are still the norm, low wages are standard for the majority, conditions at many clubs lag way behind the provisions afforded the men’s teams. It is not hard to at the very least share resources.

The former Manchester City manager Nick Cushing said as much in his final sit-down before his departure for New York City FC. “It was really simple for us – all it took was that the staff didn’t have a negative perception of the girls in the women’s game,” he said. “When I look at maybe teams not training at their facility or playing on different grounds, I just think it’s crazy. Not crazy, but I see how simple it was for us that I don’t see why that doesn’t happen at other clubs. We have found it so easy. It comes from the top.