It’s time for Premier League clubs to bring their women’s teams in house and to share facilities – The Sun
IT is about time every Premier League club brought their women’s side in-house to share the same facilities as the men.
Donning the same badge as the men may be as good as it gets for some women’s teams.
They are forced to train up to 40 miles away, play on appalling pitches and pack their own lunches.
The word "professional" is loosely thrown around the WSL – but scratch beneath the surface and many clubs are far from that.
The league became professional two years ago and while this has been great for the big three of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, the lower clubs are lagging behind.
I don’t want to put a downer on the state of the WSL as I am really impressed with how far it has grown the game – we just need to keep pushing on and not stand still.
But if you’re a top footballer, why should you be denied state-of-the-art facilities that would help with your training and recovery?
Liverpool, Spurs and Manchester United are three massive clubs with bundles of cash who do not share their training grounds – and I think they are missing a trick.
As well as the big three, respect to Everton, West Ham, Brighton and Birmingham who have branched out to accommodate their women’s team in the same training ground.
When City brought their women in to share the plush £200million Etihad Campus with the men in 2014, they went from being an average side to qualifying for the Champions League and battling with the best in Europe.
I think the dangerous thing is that a lot of people are being fooled by this word "professional".
But it takes more than just that. At my old club Arsenal, we started sharing Colney in 2014.
We had to wait until the freezing, dark evenings after the men had been put through their paces so we could finally train. It wasn’t until two years later that we got our own dedicated facilities.
The Gunners have always led the way in terms of integration and we have 59 trophies in our glittering history – so clearly it pays off.
I think the dangerous thing is that a lot of people are being fooled by this word "professional".
Players not earning enough to make ends meet – and considering quitting the sport they love because it’s not financially sustainable – is in my opinion not professional.
Some of the girls are probably still thinking the same dark thoughts as I did.
Yes, I may have gone on to be Arsenal’s captain and win 140 caps for my country but even I was sometimes forced to think about my financial security as a footballer. I really had to make the choice of being financially stable or pursuing my dreams of being the world’s best right-back.
You worry about life after football because you give up everything to dive head-first into the sport with no guarantee you will be fully supported.
How disheartening it must be for the women who wear the same shirts as their male counterparts but are denied access to the same training facilities.
We have come on leaps and bounds but there are still top players studying degrees on the side to make sure they have something to fall back on once they retire.
Beth England is smashing it as Chelsea’s top scorer – and training to be a lawyer on the side. That would just be unheard of in the men’s game. Something has to change.
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