Plymouth Argyle statement on 'very tough decisions' over women's team
Club confirm they will not be renewing and of the women's team players' contracts for next season
Plymouth Argyle say they remain committed to women’s football, after confirming players’ contracts won’t be renewed next season.
The club’s responded to concerns with a statement, admitting the news could have been communicated better and promising a review.
Bosses say the decision was about long-term sustainability, and they’ll share plans for the team’s future in the coming weeks.
Argyle said in their statement:
The football club has had to make some very tough decisions regarding the Argyle Women’s team, and we would like to clarify the situation.
We recognise concerns regarding the way this news was communicated, internally and externally, and will review this.
We remain committed to women’s football, and we will work on and share our visions for next season, and beyond, in the coming weeks, as we prepare for another season of FAWNL Southern Premier Division football.
After a lengthy, thorough review, we made the decision that, from next season, we would need to change our approach as regards the women’s team setup. Last season, to get to a cup final and to a play-off game, was a superb achievement, but it came at a cost; a higher financial cost than we had previously thought.
Had we achieved promotion to the WSL2, with a great deal of central funding to assist us, we would have been able to continue our backing at similar levels.
However, in tier three, taking into account some of the proposed administrative changes to the governance of women’s football in this country, and in light of the financial state of the football club overall, we made the difficult decision to not renew any of the players’ contracts for next season. This was not taken lightly. It was done with a view to sustainability, and with the club’s long-term interests in mind.
We informed Head Coach Marie Hourihan of our decision, at which point she made the decision to step down. Marie was then asked to communicate this decision directly to the playing squad and coaching staff, including informing players that the club would not be renewing contracts for the forthcoming season. This was then followed by an official letter from the club.
We are still passionate about participation in sport at every level, and we will be pleased to offer great opportunities for local women to be part of a football team at a high level.
We thank every player who is moving on, for their contributions to the football club, and wish them nothing but success in the future.
Petition launched following news
A change.org petition has been launched to save the team after the news broke. It's been organised by Emma Nicholls who told us "to cut the womens' and not the mens' is completely unfair... it sends out a message to young girls that some people don't believe that women deserve to be on the stage."