Western Springs women return to action in all black kit
The Western Springs Premier women’s football team returned to the park after two weeks away — and did so in a different coloured kit than usual.
The team played at Hibiscus Coast on Sunday in round eight of the Northern Regional Football League, winning 3-0.
They fielded a team fairly close to their strongest starting XI.
It comes two weeks after the players stepped away from the Auckland club after ongoing equality disputes between their team and the board.
Issues revealed to the Herald alleged “highly misogynistic” behaviour from a predominantly male board.
Another matter in the dispute was the club’s swan logo, which some see as phallic.
On Sunday, the players returned to action but wore an all-black kit without a logo.
This was different from their traditional white and green hoops home uniform and the black and green away kit.
The team played before their mediation date set for tonight because wins are needed to secure National League qualification. Western Springs sit outside the top four, two points behind Hamilton Wanderers with a game in hand.
NRFL chief executive Laura Menzies told the Herald the decision to postpone the previous weekend’s clash between Springs and Auckland United was based on player welfare.
“We want to make sure that everybody feels safe and football is inclusive,” Menzies said. “We were concerned about the welfare of the players — it’s been a pretty stressful week for them.”
There were reports the governing body received backlash for this decision, hence why their most recent fixture wasn’t also postponed.
Tonight’s mediation process will determine whether the players will continue turning out for the club or depart.
There are no league matches this coming weekend, as it is a Kate Sheppard Cup round.