Also included in today’s roundup, Camila to miss Brazil friendlies due to injury, Sunderladies women’s club to relocate for training and home matches, the Matildas were nominated for ‘The Don’ awards, and W-League fixtures for 2017-2018 season released
Denmark, who reached the final of the 2017 EURO, are stalled on negotiations with the DBU ahead of World Cup qualifying (photo: UEFA)
Denmark Women’s National team reaches stalemate with DBU
The contract negotiations between the Danish women’s national team and the governing body, DBU, have stalled at this point, which leaves the team and it’s future uncertain ahead of their first 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifier. Although at this point the qualifier is still on, the friendly scheduled to take place against of the Netherlands in front of a sold-out crowd of over 10,000 people has been cancelled as the team had no placns to convene on Monday ahead of the friendly.
The national team, who just completed a historic run to the 2017 UEFA Women’s EURO Final before falling to the Netherlands, had their existing deal just expire and are working via the Spillerforeningen (Player’s Association) to come to terms with the DBU on a new contract. After former head coach Nils Nielsen and the squad parted ways last month, Soren Randa-Boldt was put in charge for the interim. The Spillerforeningen was offered an extension from the DBU to extend the contract past World Cup qualification, but they declined the offer.
The reaction at this point from the DBU has been that the women are asking for too much. According to Vavel, “DBU communications manager Jakob Hoyer has suggested that the team are asking for simply too much money as the draft from the Spillerforeningen asks for five to ten times the current amount.” However, Pernille Harder continues to argue that the additional funding is necessary for growth and success. “We are ambitious. In order to achieve the goals of World Cup and Olympic participation, it requires better frameworks and better terms,” said Harder to DR.DK. Additionally Harder added that it’s not just about monetary equity, but much more. “We must have a strong collective agreement that respects our basic rights and assures us fundamental rights, for example, equal treatment and statutory occupational injury insurance,” added Harder.
First and foremost, the players are asking to be considered employees of the DBU, which would ensure some of the benefits Harder noted as imperative. To have players thought of as employees of the federation is something that is not typical practice in Denmark and it doesn’t appear that it’s something the DBU is willing to ocnsider. Hoyer has pointedly said, “National team players are employed in the clubs and there only.”
To add fuel to the fire, it was revealed yesterday that the DBU has yet to pay the women’s team their bonus from making it to the EURO Final back in July. Theresa Nielsen, according to DR.DK, has used the words “disappointed and disrespected” to describe how she feels about the fact that the women are overdue their bonuses. Hoyer, however, did admit that he’s aware that a mistake was made and that payments were delayed because of that, but the funds were expected to be paid yesterday.
Camila sidelined from Brazil friendlies due to injury
According to the CBF, the Brazil Women’s National Team will be without Orlando Pride defender Camila in the two-game series of friendlies that Brazil is set to play against Australia on September 16 and 19 in Sydney and New Castle respectively.
Thaisa, a midfielder who plays her club ball at Grindavik FC of Iceland, is set to replace Camila on the roster for the pair of friendlies.
The Orlando Pride have yet to release an official word on Camila’s injury.
Sunderland Ladies lose access to first team training facility
Sunderland Ladies will be relocated for both training and home matches for the upcoming season.
The Sunderland women’s team is going to be without first-team training facilities at the Academy of Light. The decision was made in response to the WSL shift from summer to winter league as well as the shift in player status from full-time to part-time for the women’s club.
With training shifted to the evenings, executives have decided that it’s no longer possible for the women’s club to have practice there as the junior men’s development teams use it then. According to the club, they will be relocating to Northumbria University’s Coach Lane Campus in Benton, which is a suburb of Newcastle and currently houses an FA elite training center. Despite the fact that their new training grounds are 13 miles north of the Academy of Light and that traffic tends to be heavy in the evening when players will be traveling from their day jobs to the pitch for training, The Guardian reported that players are “excited” about the move and will appreciate the new facilities that Coach Lane has to offer.
In addition to a change in training location, the club is looking to finalize a new home field as well. This would require all home matches to be played at Mariners Park at South Shields, which is 12 miles north of their current home at Hetton Centre. The new home pitch is said to be a better place for the women’s club to play. It’s more easily accessible by public transport, which will hopefully attract larger crowds. Although Martin Bain, the chief executive of Sunderland, has said that the relocation is strictly due to logistical problems caused by the new winter women’s seasons, there are fears that the moves could be a sign for a future cut of the women’s side. Not only were the women reverted to part-time status, but the men’s club was also relegated to the Championship last season.
In other FA WSL news, fans are going to have unprecedented access to the league this year as its set to be broadcast live across BT Sport, BBC,and Facebook. There will be a select number of games that will be broadcast on TV in England by BT spot, online by BBC as well as streamed from the FA’s WSL Facebook page (facebook/com/FAWSL). In addition to broadcast, there will be live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live. Fans will also be able to match highlights and recaps from every match on the FA’s For Girls online platform each week. Twitter and the BBC’s weekly Women’s Football Show will also both feature live clip updates.
✅ @btsport
✅ @BBCSport
✅ FAWSL Facebook
This season you’ll be able to watch more #FAWSL than ever!https://t.co/uU8rD4pizA— The FA WSL (@FAWSL) September 11, 2017
Matildas nominated for ‘The Don’ Award, W-League fixtures released
Lisa De Vanna helped the Matildas to a historic win at the Tournament of Nations earlier this year (Getty Images)
The Matildas have been nominated for the Sport Australia Hall of Fame ‘The Don’ Award which is regarded as Australia’s leading contemporary sporting award.
The team has been added to a list of nominees that includes the best in Australian athletics. Some of those candidates include Jeff Horn (boxing), Erin Phillips (AFL), Emily Seebohm (swimming), and Tyler Wright (surfing), among others who have been recognized as Australia’s best performers in sports over the past year. The nomination for the Matildas comes off a year in which they saw massive wins over top-tanked opponents such as the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil and the USWNT which was their first-ever win over the reigning world champs. They finished fourth at the Algarve Cup and won the Tournament of Nations. The Matildas were also the only national team nominated in 2017.
The Don Awards gala will be on October 12 in Melbourne.
In other women’s soccer news in Australia, the W-League fixtures for the 2017-2018 season were released. Notably, 27 matches will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, which is up significantly from the 17 matches from the prior year. The 2017-2018 schedule will also include 25 double-headers with Hyundai A-League matches. The season is set to kick off on Friday October 27 as Sydney FC take on the Brisbane Roar. The full schedule can be found here.
