Richmond has confirmed it will make an application to have a women’s football team participate in the National Women’s League (NWL) next year.
The Richmond board endorsed the application this month after the AFL provided final details on the competition structure and establishment.
“We didn’t rush into this decision - we wanted all the facts in front of us and that has been the approach this board has taken to all decisions in recent years,” Richmond CEO Brendon Gale said.
“It clearly aligns with broader business strategies, so we will be making an application.”
Gale said an important element of the club’s application was its authentic and long-term commitment to gender equity, and the establishment of a culture that would allow a women’s team to thrive.
“We haven’t just decided gender equity and female engagement is a good idea because the NWL is going to be established. We have been committed to genuinely promoting gender equity for the best part of five years,” Gale said.
By way of example, the Club established a research project - Gender Equity: What will it take to be the Best? This longitudinal study, undertaken in conjunction with the AFL and the Australian Sports Commission, commenced three years ago. It will be completed this year and the Club has already implemented many practical responses to the findings from a business perspective.
“A women’s team will give us a participation arm and we are very well placed to support it,” Gale said.
“We also took the lead in driving gender equity at a national level when we drove the establishment of the Elite Sport Male Champions of Change (ESMCC) in conjunction with former Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick. It is a group that will drive industry-wide outcomes.
“Our view is there needs to be real depth to any female program and our track record in creating the environment to support women can’t be questioned.”
Gale also said the Punt Road Oval facility offers an enormous opportunity for the competition.
“It has an elite surface, has lights that will allow night games, undercover seating and it is close to public transport. It will serve the immediate needs of the team, and some requirements of the competition, and talent pathways more broadly,” he said.
“But what we like most in the medium-to-long term is what can be achieved with the development of a masterplan that would enable it to effectively become the home of female football.
“This is an iconic location in the heart of one of the great sporting precincts in the world. As opposed to some suburban venues, we think a redeveloped Punt Road Oval facility would become a venue women aspire to play at.”
Punt Road Oval will host the final day of competition in the 2016 AFL Youth Girls National Championships on Friday May 6 in the lead up to Richmond's home game against Hawthorn.
The 2016 Vic Metro Youth Girls squad at Punt Road Oval this week
