It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the more female leaders organisations have, the better they perform. But it’s also true that the majority of leadership and governance roles in our community football clubs and federations are held by males.  

While New Zealand Football has led the way at a national level, achieving (and since maintaining) SportNZ’s target of a minimum of 40% female membership of ExCo in 2020, the focus has expanded to federations and community clubs.

As New Zealand Football women’s development manager Annalie Longo puts it, “we need more females in higher roles.”

It is critical to our game that females have role models and opportunities to lead in operational roles, and in strategic roles on governance boards, if we are serious about increased female participation across the game and diversity in leadership and governance.  

Sounds straightforward enough. But how do you actually make this happen?

One avenue is by developing pathways in the game to these higher positions by building programmes and opportunities that are safe and encouraging It’s vital to provide development for prospective leaders, so they are equipped and confident to take these roles up and be part of the change through Legacy Starts Now.

To help achieve this at a regional level, New Zealand Football ran its first Train the Trainer course in partnership with OFC and the Capability Group last week. It was attended by women’s football development officers and Women’s World Cup Legacy and Inclusion managers from each of Aotearoa New Zealand’s football federations, many of whom are graduates of the Ford Women in Leadership Programme and are now learning how to deliver the programme to their local communities.

“We want to grow the capacity and number of administrators of females in higher positions within clubs and federations: those that can be in decision making roles and how we can empower them to be leaders. That’s where Train the Trainer comes in,” Longo explains.

“We have some incredible females working in our federations and leading FIFA Women’s World Cup Legacy roles. We want them to have the skills, confidence, and knowledge to influence more people within their own connections, such as their clubs, and the people they directly work with,” she says.

Capital Football’s Women’s World Cup Legacy and Inclusion manager Sandy Cumpstone is an example of this aim being put into practice. She was appointed to the role at the end of January, having previously worked in the police, and was a long-time committee member of Wellington United.

“Capital Football, along with the other federations, are going to be running the Women in Leadership programme as one of the Legacy Starts Now regional priorities. And as part of that, obviously we need people to deliver it,” she says.

“Providing more skills to women in football our region is something I’m really passionate about. I’m stoked to be here and to learn how to facilitate the course so that when I deliver it, I can make sure our participants get as much out of it as I have.”

Increasing federation capacity to deliver Women in Leadership programmes is key, as Mainland Football women’s development officer and Canterbury United Pride head coach Alana Gunn attests.

“Mainland has a clear purpose in terms of how they want to grow the girls and women’s space, so I’ve been able to bring [Pride players and Mainland Football development officers] Chloe Bellamy and Charlotte Roche with me. Resources are thin, so having three of us here on the course is great as it shares the load and ensures it’s not just my face and my voice delivering these messages all the time.”

Gunn was a participant on the inaugural Women in Leadership course in 2020, and notes that a key value of these courses is in the personal development of the participants, which enables them to be better equipped to be leaders in football and handle some of the challenging situations such roles require.

“It massively increases your self-awareness. Your ability to understand yourself to improve your relationships with others has been huge,” she says.

“Being female in a male-dominated code, [the programme] provides you with the tools and ability to navigate scenarios that sometimes can be quite hard and intimidating, such as a hierarchy system or having a difficult conversation with a CEO or an upset parent.

“Having a network of people that are going through similar scenarios with you that you can lean on is a great resource.”

The task of developing pathways for women in football isn’t just one for women in football to do; the impetus is also on men to support and contribute to the pathways for women and to build a strong network of male allyship.

One such figure is Central Football’s Community Development Officer for Gisborne/Tairāwhiti Lee Smith, who particularly wants to strengthen women’s football pathways in his region.

“We are desperate for more female leadership in football in Gisborne,” he says.

“There’s plenty of people but they’re not in those leadership roles. And so [being able to deliver] something like this can inspire them to take the next step to step into those roles and to take control of the football and take ownership of it.

“We can create a pathway and an environment that encourages girls to play more and to stay in the game: to be able to embrace it socially, but also to be ambitious. It’s about being able to provide [girls and women] all the options, and also for them to be decision-makers across the game.”

Development programmes, particularly in the areas of female leadership across the game, are a key part of New Zealand Football’s FIFA Women’s World Cup legacy plan Aotearoa United: Legacy Starts Now. Our federations will be rolling out regional Women in Leadership programmes across the year and delivering seven programmes to around 100 participants in 2023. If you are interested in attending, look out for the applications, or contact your local federation for more information.

Article added: Monday 13 March 2023