Blackburn Women players felt ‘devalued’ over club withdrawal

Rachel Dugdale, a defender for Blackburn Women, claims that players’ “lack of communication” with the club regarding their decision to withdraw from the Women’s Championship has caused them to feel “devalued.”

Rovers announced on Tuesday that the club would leave the second-tier next year because Venky, the league’s administrator, is unwilling to meet its standards for facilities, player welfare, and staffing.

Dugdale claimed that manager Simon Parker only received the news an hour before it was made public before the club’s HR department sent an email.

According to the email, which was viewed by BBC Sport, the decision would “significantly impact the staffing and playing structure moving forward.”

Dugdale told BBC Sport the day after the news was confirmed that “there is just a feeling of being devalued.”

“Our sacrifice and dedication paid off” despite having by far the league’s most modest budget for the amount of work we put in this year.

“We really felt devalued as players by not having that communication,” he said. Owners and those in charge don’t have the will or desire to do what right by us, so it sends a really bad and powerful message to younger female footballers.

The 28-year-old added that since the announcement, the club has “absolutely nothing” and that the club’s members are still unsure of their future.

Dugdale has played for a squad that has since dropped out of the league after Reading moved up to the fifth tier in 2024 for the second time in a row.

The Northern Ireland international defender added that there have been discussions with us about paying out the rest of our contracts or what that would mean.

“They still don’t know what tier we’ll be in,” he added. That is currently the main subject we are thinking about.

We “demorise and need additional support for the staff and the players.”

Dugdale wanted to speak out about the situation because she believed it was crucial that clubs treated footballers as “people not just players.”

Players from Wolves Women were frustrated in April because the organization had already decided not to apply for the Women’s Championship, despite the players’ claims that they were chasing promotion. This was followed by players from Reading last year.

Dugdale said she was “too worried to speak up about it” last year while studying in Reading, but she doesn’t want women’s teams to continue to suffer lower down the pyramid.

All of the advice that was given to us was really well-intentioned, including that we shouldn’t speak out, we should protect ourselves in terms of making sure we get those final salary payments, and make sure we don’t appear a troublemaker for future clubs.

That advice was given to me last year. However, my current top priority is influencing and improving the women’s game.

“I don’t believe there was enough noise at Reading last year. I had no sense of bravery to speak out. That, in my opinion, has made it acceptable and acceptable for Blackburn to do it this year.

“I don’t want any more players or staff to go through this uncertain and challenging time.” I want the women’s soccer team to continue to expand.

Dugdale claimed that she made £15, 000 annually at Blackburn, which is below the national minimum wage, and that the majority of players make an average of £9, 000 annually.

She stays with a friend and travels from the south of England to Blackburn on weekends to play games.

The 28-year-old added that while the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), which represents the majority of Blackburn’s players, does not provide that legal support, she is “lucky.”

She demanded change before moving forward.

“The issue is that you can only be a part of the PFA as a female player if you have participated in the Women’s Super League, like I did with the Doncaster Belles,” said Dugdale.

It descends to the fourth tier in the men’s game all the way down. I don’t see why the PFA shouldn’t be covering the Women’s Championship because it is completely professional going into the following season.

“It is very important that many of my team-mates haven’t received the support I do right now,” said one of my teammates. That needs to change, in my opinion.

Dugdale also wants the “fit and proper person test,” a background check conducted by the Football Association, to make sure potential club owners and directors are qualified to buy and run them.

What requirements must that meet? Is it a “sweeping test” that the men’s team takes while the women’s team is “bolted on”? she continued.