Senior female players at Western Springs Football Club have reached an agreement with the board on plans to address their concerns about gender equity at the club.

Following a protracted mediation which began on 30 May, a joint statement released today by the top Auckland club and the Premier Women’s Team said: “We agreed a way forward that’s resolved many of the concerns raised by the players and their supporters and the team will keep playing at Western Springs.”

In the statement posted on their website, the club acknowledged there had “been issues” and apologised for “failures in communication and understanding that contributed to the situation”.

“Everyone involved committed to the mediation process in good faith, which led to a successful resolution.”

It comes after an ongoing Herald investigation into the concerns of senior women’s players over inequality disputes at one of the country’s top football clubs.

The Herald revealed: Player and staff walkouts; details of funding the club received for the upcoming Fifa Women’s World Cup; allegations of “highly misogynistic behaviour”; concerns about a phallic logo; unequal spending between the top male and female squads.

Since the Herald first broke the story on 13 May, club leaders have not responded to Herald requests for comment.

Today’s statement said: “The club respects the stand taken by the players and the opportunity it’s provided to learn and further improve our approach to women’s football.”

The statement said a number of changes have been agreed to “which are all about making sure Western Springs sets the standard for not just football clubs in Auckland but for sports clubs nationwide”.

The changes included:

• The Premier Women’s teams’ expense budget will be increased to be equal with the Premier Men;
• A process is underway to recruit a new Head of Girls’ and Women’s Football;
• Changes to the constitution will be recommended to embed a commitment to equality, diversity and player representation across their committees;
• An appointment process is underway for an independent advisor to develop a Girls’ and Women’s Programme Development Strategy;
• The club will increase efforts to attract more women to Senior and Executive Committees;
• The executive agreed to develop a clear pathway for raising and resolving members’ concerns and issues.

The statement noted the club’s Junior Committee now has 50 per cent female representation. When the Herald first broke the story, the club’s website listed three women among the 10 people on that board.

The club has called in Kereyn Smith, former CEO of the NZ Olympic committee, who will act as Transition Director to implement these changes and will also act as a conduit between the Women’s Premier team and the club.

They will also have the support of Northern Region Football and New Zealand Football.

Western Springs women who were runners-up in the New Zealand National League last year, played four matches while mediation underway. Two were regular league games and two Kate Sheppard Cup matches – all of which they won.

Western Springs premier women's team played two games in black, unbranded kit during the dispute. Photo / Alex Burton

The club provided an unbranded kit for two of those games after the players felt uncomfortable wearing a phallic-looking logo.

The Herald last week reported the club had called in an artist to redesign the 34-year-old emblem. Today’s post-mediation statement did not mention the logo.

The statement said, “despite our size as one of the largest sporting clubs in New Zealand, we’re largely run by volunteers”.

“We recognise this has been an unsettling time for members.”

The club thanked their members for their patience and assured them they’ll be kept informed as the changes progress.

“We look forward to returning focus to playing football – and of course, we’d like to see all Western Springs whānau supporting the Premier Women’s team here at Seddon and away.”

The players said in a separate statement they were relieved to have reached an agreement with the club – thanking and acknowledging the club’s executives on the changes made.

“Pushing for change has been tough on us as a playing group and has taken a personal toll, but we’ve gained strength from each other and have stayed tight as a group,” the players said. “We’ve also had amazing support from men and women around us, particularly in the legal space with Maria Dew KC and Maria Clarke and we couldn’t have achieved this without their help.”

The players were “really proud” of what they achieved, adding: “We hope that WSAFC can lead the way for other clubs to ensure equity and fairness and a culture which supports and grows women’s teams.

“We can’t wait to concentrate on football knowing that our voices have been heard and that other women may be inspired to stand up for what they believe in.”