Essendon Football Club wishes to advise it has carefully considered submitting an application to be part of the AFL National Women’s League (NWL) competition in 2017, but has made the decision not to apply for a licence at this point in time.
Essendon CEO, Xavier Campbell, said it was important for the Club to take a bottom-up approach to the AFL NWL opportunity.
“We have every intention to be a part of the National Women’s League competition in the near future,” Campbell said
“Our current priority is building a strong foundation of female engagement and participation as well as elite development pathways in the northwest region of Melbourne.”
“We will continue to invest in grassroots football and work closely with the Calder Canons to deliver a broader program that can align with our next generation and development academies.”
“Essendon Football Club is determined to become the most inclusive, successful and respected football Club in Australian sport and a future role in the National Women’s League will form a big part of this vision.”
The Club has established a steering committee led by EFC Director and Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay that will focus on developing an over-arching diversity strategy with particular emphasis on building the framework for a women’s team.
“After reviewing further documentation from the AFL and in line with one of our core values Purpose in Everything, we made the decision that if we are going to commit to something we want to do it properly. We need a clearly defined strategy to ensure we implement the right structure with the necessary resources to deliver a sustainable and successful long term model,” Campbell said
“The Club will work closely with various stakeholders to establish the best practice framework for our women’s team, including the Essendon Women’s Network, with a view to becoming the Club of choice for female athletes, coaches and staff across the industry.”
“We are committed to providing women with an equal opportunity to play elite Australian Football, encouraging young women to choose the AFL as their sport of choice and unearthing role models within women’s sport more broadly in Australia.”
“This decision was not taken lightly but we firmly believe it will provide the Club with the best possible foundation for future years in the National Women’s League competition.”
Essendon Football Club has been an industry leader when it comes to women in football, with Beverly Knight joining the Board as the first female Club Director in 1993 and the establishment of the Essendon Women’s Network and Football Woman of the Year Award.
The Club will continue to play a critical leadership role supporting the AFL NWL competition, following its support during the 2016 pre-season academy training sessions with access to the True Value Solar Centre facilities, senior coaches, development programs and a senior staff member involved in every session.
