West Ham United came under attack yesterday from certain sections of the press after it was revealed that West Ham Ladies teams have to provide their own funding.
It's no secret that the Ladies teams have always operated independently of West Ham United FC, with the vast majority of funding coming from the players or staff - a situation highlighted when the club set up a donations page to fund their continued existence earlier this week.However their plight was brought to a wider audience yesterday when Match of the Day commentator Jacqui Oatley tweeted United co-chairman David Gold to enquire why the teams failed to receive financial support from the club..
It was an argument taken up by the Guardian, though the piece strangely disappeared from their website shortly after being published. However Dave Maslen, who has worked with several of the Ladies' junior teams in recent years believes the attack on Gold and the club was both unwarranted and unfair.
"West Ham United ladies recently set up a Gofundme page in order to help raise money for the women’s and junior girls teams," he told KUMB. "With ever increasing costs, the club are finding it more and more difficult to keep the club running to the high standards it has achieved over the last few years
"We have always been and still are very grateful to the main club for the help and support they give the first team supplying kit and training facilities but as we all know, nothing in this world is for free.
"With an average rise of 30 per cent in pitch fees alone for this season added to the cost of junior training kits, the hire of training facilities (for the junior teams), transport costs (with the first team and development squad playing all over country) plus the costs of supplying physios and coaching staff for the first team, it doesn’t take much working out to see this runs into thousands of pounds a year.
"The club [WHUFC Ladies] has run itself, financially, since its birth in 1991. Not wanting to burden the main club with their own financial problems, it was decided that the Ladies needed to raise money in different ways.
"Usually, any extra money needed would be raised through the junior section of the club through club discos, race nights and bucket collections which have taken place at the men’s first team home games.
"We are very grateful to the main club for allowing the girls to do this. But, unfortunately this isn’t enough now for the club to meet its financial needs as with a lot of other grass roots football teams, we are having to look into other ways of raising money for the club."
Whilst the Ladies' fundraising via Gofundme has enjoyed to a healthy start, with more than £1,000 of the £10,000 sought already banked within 36 hours of the project starting thanks to generous donations, Maslen urged more Hammers fans to back the Ladies teams.
"The club has around 12 fully-qualified coaches and six managers, all of whom are unpaid," he said. "Everyone that works at the club volunteers, putting in the hours purely for their love of this great football club. So any money raised will go straight into helping to keep the first team and junior girls teams running.
"The club is recognised as being one of the most popular and successful in the area with hundreds of girls attending trials each season all eager to wear the famous claret and blue shirt.
"If you feel you can help the club raise money in any way please visit the West Ham ladies at www.gofundme.com/dyluxc or contact us direct at either westhamladiesjuniors@hotmail.co.uk or billdotrobinson@yahoo.co.uk.
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