Thornaby FC to reinstate female teams after backlash

A club who have been widely criticised for deciding to scrap their female football teams have announced plans to reverse the decision.

Thornaby FC were criticised after the board voted to scrap women’s football to save money, leaving more than a 100 players without a team.

England internationals Beth Mead and Beth England led the public outrage, which was swiftly followed by the resignation of the six members of the executive committee who voted for it.

Chairman Gary Morris, who had voted to keep the women’s teams, also condemned the short-sightedness of his fellow board members and was left with only one colleague after the resignations.

They have since appointed Alison McGee as their new chief executive officer and said their girls’ and women’s teams now had the “foundations to carry on”. McGee is a director at Durata, a power infrastructure company, which has sponsored Thornaby FC Women for the past two seasons.

“We have been around this fantastic club for the last couple of years and this next chapter is an exciting prospect to be part of,” she said. “There is so much potential for men and women together, girls and boys, one club.”

The news was welcomed by Thornaby’s co-managers Abbey Lyle and Claire Streeter, who said: “We want to shine a positive light and we are proud of the football community for standing by us on this. We are excited about what is to come and we want to look ahead. We would love for the club to hit new levels and look to the future.”

Mead had described the decision as a “horrible one” and pointed out that it was evidence of how much more needed to be done to ensure girls had the same opportunities to play football for local teams as boys.

She wrote on social media platform X: “Disgusted to see this decision, the women’s game is on the up but we still have committees making these horrible decisions. It’s not good enough, these young girls deserve better. I’d love to send the team a signed England shirt to keep them inspired.”