Fight for parity with men leads to dumping

The coach who piloted the Southern United women's first trip to the playoffs will not be back - and he blames his bosses.

Terry Parle took the side to its first national women's league playoff appearance last year, his first season back in Dunedin after seven away.

After the season he provided a list of recommendations to Football South as to how it could better support the team.

He said he was told they could not be carried out and he would not be considered for the role this season.

His recommendations centred around getting the women "some parity with what the men's team were getting".

Most notably that included supporting the players from out of town - particularly students - with accommodation costs once the semester finished.

At that point those in halls had to find alternative arrangements and student loan payments stopped, making paying rent more difficult for those in flats.

Training space and training kits had been other issues raised.

Parle, who works at King's High School and runs its football programme, said it was the players rather than himself he was disappointed for.

"For me I've been working in football a long time, it's football," he said of not being considered for the job.

"What I'm really disappointed in is the progression of our girls.

"I offered to work in the girls' space for [Football South] for the next few years, develop a programme for them, but they're not interested.

"My vision of how football should progress for the girls in the Football South region is not the vision of the federation, because literally they don't want to spend the money."

Football South CEO Chris Wright confirmed the move to the Otago Daily Times in a statement this afternoon.

"While we are delighted with the team's performance in the previous campaign, the expectations between both parties, including the operational and financial realities, were not
aligned and we were unable to reach an agreement.

"We have made this decision now to ensure we have enough time to recruit another coach, and ensure the team is prepared for the coming season.

"Whilst the outcome is a shame, the club are confident this is the right decision for the organisation and players moving forward."

He added the federation was a long-time advocate of an extended national women's league and the club would be implementing improvements to better the player experience.