The England midfielder Georgia Stanway and the former Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron have been among those to criticise Blackburn Rovers, after reports that the club will be paying women’s team players merely minimum wage throughout next season on 16-hour-a-week contracts.
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that Blackburn, who play in the second tier of the women’s pyramid, are set to be constrained by a playing budget of just £100,000 for next season and therefore their players, who are all semi-professional, will receive salaries of just £9,000. It is understood those reported numbers are consistent with the contract terms that have been discussed with several prospective players this summer, and that such salaries have previously been commonplace at the club in previous seasons.
Stanway labelled the news “very sad”, while Farron, a Blackburn fan who is currently standing for re-election as the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, labelled the club a “disgrace”, saying Blackburn should “hang their heads in shame” and address the matter.
Bayern Munich’s Stanway, who came through Blackburn’s youth system before signing for Manchester City in 2015, reacted to the report by saying on the social media platform X: “Myself and so many others are indebted to the opportunities Blackburn gave us when we were younger. Very sad to see the club choosing not to back their women’s team. Football and people in the North West need Blackburn to continue to properly support the game!”
The club declined to comment when contacted for a response by the Guardian.
Stanway’s England teammates Keira Walsh and Ella Toone are also products of Blackburn’s youth setup. Blackburn’s men’s club has been owned by the Indian-owned company Venky’s since 2010 and their most recent set of financial accounts stated the club has debts of more than £140m.
Blackburn’s women’s team finished sixth in last season’s 12-team Championship, ending the campaign 10 points off promotion to the Women’s Super League. On 29 June the club announced the departures of 10 players at the end of their contracts this summer.
The former Blackburn defender Kayleigh McDonald also criticised the club on social media, responding to Stanway’s words by labelling her old club as “box tickers” and claiming the women’s team previously were discouraged from using the men’s team’s coffee machine.
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Box tickers. I remember we got begrudged using the mens coffee machine& had to use the sachets instead. 🫠 quick enough to plaster Keira, Georgia &toone when they’re smashing big comps but can’t look after their own. The girls this season should be so proud of what they achieved https://t.co/cWERBSBOxl
— Kayleigh Mc (@Kayleigh_Mcx) July 2, 2024
Reports of financial constraints at Blackburn come less than a week after Reading, who were also playing in the Championship last term, withdrew from the division over financial concerns and dropped down to tier five of the women’s pyramid instead.