The Hampton Rovers Football Club tried to assemble their first senior women’s team during the 2014-2015 off-season.
Everything seemed to be on track — they had players, they had coaches and they had umpires.
But they didn’t have changerooms, and the entire plan folded because Boss James Reserve couldn’t meet league requirements for a female team.
HRFC president Matthew Gray said the result was “absolutely disappointing”.
“We had a group together,” Mr Gray said.
“We were shattered that we couldn’t go ahead with it.”
The Rovers have made a concerted effort in recent seasons to foster a welcoming, friendly club environment, through discounted women’s membership packages, a junior girls division and club social events.
Without a senior women’s team, junior girls players from the junior girls teams won’t be able to continue playing beyond their childhood years — a situation that totally discourages young girls from investing their time and effort in the sport.
Mr Gray said it was time to recognise women as “key stakeholders” in community sporting clubs, but the HRFC just don’t have the cash and resources to give a senior women’s team the clubrooms they deserve, he explained.
“It’s just too big a job for us to do on our own,” Mr Gray said.
“Funding is tight for a community football club — we would need assistance from local, state and federal levels.”
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