In 2019, the AFC Stoke Newington first team — led by familiar faces like Alice Sharpe, Emily Link, Phoebe Parthews, and Ciara Monaghan — voted to join Clapton Community FC, which had formed the previous season.
The decision was based on Stokey’s founding principle that women’s and non-binary (WNB) football should be run by women and non-binary players:
- In joining Clapton, the women’s team would retain full governance of their set-up and decision-making
- The club would commit to cultivating opportunities for women, girls and non-binary people to access football
You can see the outcomes of the second point across Clapton, with great thanks to far too many people to name here. In terms of WNB football, Clapton has the first, reserves and development teams; open training for those with little-to-no football experience, a weekly youth training session in Forest Gate, a five-a-side team, and a weekly open-access, mixed-gender youth training session.
Today, we’re talking about the first condition and how it manifests as our Players’ Committee.
Our Players’ Committee is made up not only of volunteers from our first and reserve teams but also non-playing members of wider Clapton. The committee is responsible for decisions regarding coaching staff, league set-up, training location, and more.
One of the committee’s most important jobs is organising our mid- and end-of-season player feedback surveys. The data gathered in these surveys is used to deliver feedback to coaches and guide staffing decisions.
By putting players in charge, we empower them to make decisions free from consistently harmful power dynamics, systemic abuse and discrimination.
All players need to become a club member before we register them, and are given a special welcome pack outlining the club history, philosophy and goals.
Take a look at the roles below, and please reach out to our current members if you’d like to get involved. Together, we can change WNB football for the better:
WNB 1st and Reserves Players Committee
- General Secretary: Chris Tymkow (CCFC member)
- League Liaison: Amy Louth (CCFC member)
- Treasurer: Elizabeth Atoyebi (player)
- Welfare/Safeguarding: Chelsie Sparks (player)
- Team Admin: Mim Chadwick (player)
- Social Secretaries: Allana Scoble, Annie Lyons, Noora Oikarainen (players)
- Match Day: Garry Strutt and Nick Davidson (CCFC members & photographers)
- Comms: Paul Cockerton (CCFC member)
- DE&I: All players and committee responsibility
What the coaches say
This club belongs to you and me. We say that so often it rolls off the tongue. It’s found stuck in various locations across East London (and Brentford). It’s our club’s DNA. We are the pioneers of this beautiful club. We’ve built it from the ground up, from the scaffold down.
WNB football is in its pioneer phase, too, up and down the country, across the continent. Clubs are making decisions about their legacy, what football looks like for them, and for their local community. I would like to believe these decisions are being made by women and non-binary people, but so often they aren’t the ones we see in the dugout or in the boardroom.
Our legacy isn’t yet determined. We are working on it week by week, day by day. The WNB committee is a big part of that. Grassroots WNB football has always been a powerful force — the FA banning it for 50 years is testament to that. There is work to be done; WNB football is not a safe space for all in our community, but maybe here in the OSD it could be. And in years to come maybe a few more young people in Forest Gate find the joy in our scaffold, in the love of the game, and the hatred of the Tories. That feels like legacy to me.
- Alice Sharpe, First Team Head Coach
I am pleased to coach at a club which empowers the players to make decisions … As WNB players reportedly (by FIFPRO study) name coaches as their number one source for fear of violence it is imperative that coaches remain accountable for their practices and actions. Myself and Amii operate an open door policy and encourage feedback from players and the WNB committee to enable us to perform to our best. You have to leave your ego at the door as it’s not about the coach but the players and the club.
- Johanna Kuosa, Reserves Assistant Coach
I’ve been at clubs where the “one club” policy overlooks the unique concerns WNB players face. Having our own committee means we are not second class or unrepresented in a club that has such a strong men’s team (which we love and support too!)
- Amii Griffith, Reserves Head Coach