The Football Association (FA) is working on a consultation plan that will see stakeholders in the women’s game, including players, help the governing body develop policies on safer working environments.
The policies and guidance will cover club staff and player relations as well as wider conduct around bullying and harassment.
All were points of concern last season following the death of Sheffield United player Maddy Cusack, who took her own life in 2023. The FA has since launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death following a complaint by Cusack’s family.
After her death, Cusack’s family wrote to Sheffield United to outline issues Cusack faced with her then manager, Jonathan Morgan, and later said that Cusack’s spirit “was allowed to be broken” in the months before her death.
Morgan was fired before The Athletics released details of his three-year relationship with a teenage player while both were at Leicester.
The following month, Leicester City manager Willie Kirk was sacked after a club investigation found he had “breached the team’s code of conduct” by engaging in a relationship with a player.
The FA launched an unacceptable behavior policy after NWSL players detailed allegations of sexual misconduct to The Athletics in 2021.
Players were also encouraged to share their experiences of their working environments with the FA, which oversaw the WSL and the Championship until the Women’s Professional League Limited takeover was completed last month. A helpline run by Sporting Resolutions, an independent dispute resolution service for sport, also allows players to report complaints.
Elsewhere, it is possible that PFA membership will soon be open to players in the Women’s Championship for the first time.
Discussions are understood to be underway now that the WSL and Championship have moved from under the control of the FA. PFA membership is open to fully professional leagues only. This previously did not include the Championship.
Unlike in the men’s game, there is currently no financial agreement in place with the WSL that sees player-generated broadcast and commercial revenue fund union services. This would be pursued alongside plans to expand to cover the Championship.
As PFA membership is for life, Championship players who were once in the WSL retain access to PFA support. This supposedly covers about 50 percent of second-tier players.
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