Eight Geelong clubs oppose day of play change for female football in open letter to AFL Barwon

A group of Geelong female football clubs have strongly opposed a change made by AFL Barwon. READ their open letter to the governing body and their own statements.

Eight clubs have banded together to oppose changes flagged by AFL Barwon.

Eight Geelong football clubs have united against AFL Barwon’s controversial decision to move the majority of female football to Friday nights next season, claiming it will have a “detrimental effect” on participation numbers.

Anglesea, Bannockburn, Geelong Amateur, Grovedale, Newtown and Chillwell, St Mary’s, St Joseph’s and St Albans Football Netball Clubs have opposed the date of play change announced by AFL Barwon a fortnight ago, which confirmed that Epworth Senior Female and Under 19’s Female Football competition’s will be played primarily on Friday nights rather than on Sundays.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL LETTER

The governing body said the change was made following “extensive consultation” and aimed to increase participation and give female footballers the ability to be involved in social events at their respective clubs that are often held on Friday or Saturday nights.

AFL Barwon had then planned to move female football matches to Saturdays in 2025.

But after St Mary’s and Anglesea football co-ordinators Amanda Flynn and Jennifer Lingham raised their grave fears for female football last week, eight teams have now expressed their public disapproval of the change.

The clubs claim that it be a logical nightmare for players and volunteers and will see participation numbers in the region plummet.

“We strongly believe this model achieves the absolute opposite. It will have a detrimental effect on both our playing and volunteer numbers,” the open letter says.

“We collectively agree that what is being asked of senior female footballers, and the volunteers supporting them, is unfair, unreasonable and inequitable.

“Senior female footballers are full time & shift workers, casual & part-time workers, students, mothers, primary carers and people who have to balance their own needs as well as their professional and family responsibilities.

“The proposed fixturing does not make playing or officiating football in our competition as easy as it could be and indeed, should be.”

The letter comes at a busy time for AFL Barwon as they consult individual clubs about their competition restructure proposal.

AFL Barwon regional manager Ed Wilson told this publication last week that every individual club would be catered for in the fixturing.

“We went through an extensive modelling process with the clubs to share with them the vision based on the feedback we have received for several years and from that we have received majority support,” Wilson said.

“It’s taken extensive consultation to reach the point that we are at now where we implemented this two-year transition model. We are confident that participation numbers will grow in the long-term under this as we make it a more attractive proposition to be playing female football at a senior level within the Barwon region.

“We certainly understand different teams and different clubs have different sets of circumstances and some prefer to play games on one day of the week rather than another. And we will make sure our fixturing in 2024 is accommodating for those different considerations.”

Originally published as Eight Geelong clubs oppose day of play change for female football in open letter to AFL Barwon