Aberdeen Women and their fellow SWPL 1 clubs will meet with Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) today, ahead of discussions over who will govern the top flight next season.
SWF, the current governing body, face stiff competition from SPFL, who have proposed that top flight women’s football should make the switch to the organisation that governs the men’s game.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster met with SWPL clubs on December 20 last year, and pitched what women’s football might look like under their stewardship.
According to a report in the Herald on Sunday, plans of a “democratic subsidiary model” were met with favourable responses, with the idea being that the women’s game would be its own organisation as part of SPFL, with a board of directors that would include club representatives.
While it’s unclear as to what Doncaster exactly proposed to the clubs, tomorrow’s meeting will see SWF chief executive Aileen Campbell try to convince teams that the future of women’s football exists as part of SWF.
Campbell will no doubt have to bring up the commercial elephant in the room as financial matters will be top of the agenda – for the governing bodies and clubs.
Dons co-boss Emma Hunter has not been involved in any of the meetings thus far, with that responsibility falling to the decision makers who work behind-the-scenes at the club.
She said: “The club are addressing that; they’re representing the club from their perspective so I’m not involved in any of those meetings which is quite right.
“It’s the club’s ambitions and what the future of Aberdeen Football Club will be involved in, and not necessarily myself, Gavin Beith or the coaching staff.
“They’ve got people at the club and we’re really fortunate that they understand SPFL football, they understand how it operates.
“So we’ve got great people in there representing the club to find out a little bit more about what’s best for the future of women’s football.”
‘Excited to see what the future holds’
The domestic women’s game is continually growing and improving, and as it seeks to become more professional, it is understandable that top flight clubs want to have a clearer vision of what the future might hold.
Hunter insists that whatever direction the women’s game takes, whether it be under SWF or SPFL, it will be for the betterment of the game.
She added: “We all want what’s best for the women’s game and I think everyone involved in the discussions will be looking at that.
“The game is rapidly growing and everyone knows that, it’s growing so quickly that sometimes it can be difficult to keep up with what’s happening.
“You see that at the moment with the difference in the league, we’ve got some clubs that are fully professional, some clubs that are still backed by a club and getting a lot of resources from that, and you’ve got standalone clubs like Glasgow City as well.
“We’ll all have different agendas, but I’m sure the outcome will be what’s best for the women’s game and if it does turn out to be a change in direction then we’ll be excited to see what the future holds.”
