Former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Chloe Morgan has claimed that the North Londoners must do more to ensure that the men’s and women’s teams are integrated.
Morgan has been a great servant to Tottenham during her time in the capital, having been at the club since 2015.
The club announced two weeks ago that Morgan would be departing and, in response, the 30-year-old hinted on social media that she held disagreements with the club over the lack of integration between the men’s and women’s teams.
The shot-stopper has now opened up on Sky’s The Women’s Football Show (as relayed by Sky Sports) about the problems she faced at Tottenham.
She suggested that the women’s team felt like second-class citizens in comparison with the men, during her time at the club.
Morgan, who confirmed on the show that she would be joining Crystal Palace next season, is quoted as saying: “In terms of my experiences with Spurs, I’m still taking the time to reflect back on the things that have happened and the experience I have had with the club over the past six years.
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“Now as an older player, I definitely think things could be better on the women’s side in terms of equality and I’m ready to stand up and speak out against that, and that’s with the intention of making things better for the next generation of players.
“I don’t want to see progress go at such a slow pace. It’s almost going nowhere, I want to be part of the push forward.
“But in terms of equality and what I think Spurs should do better, I definitely think there are grounds there to really consolidate the women’s and men’s team and make it more of a cohesive team.
“I never want a situation where a women’s team feel like a second-class team or they feel like they are second-class citizens to a men’s team, so I think there is work to be done there.
“I do think in some ways the men’s team were supportive but I definitely think there were occasions when the cohesion could have been a lot better.
“In terms of being part of the men’s setup I definitely think there could have been ways we could have used the facilities better, we could have been in a situation where we met the men’s team more a little bit more often.
“I just think there were things that were going on behind the scenes that I feel need to be addressed.”
Tottenham have responded to the long-serving goalkeeper’s statement, as they insisted that equality and inclusion were of “paramount importance” to the club.
A Spurs spokesman told Sky Sports: “The progress and evolution of our women’s set-up is an ongoing, organic process and something which we as a club are fully committed to.
“In a short space of time, the club has fully integrated its women’s team into its day-to-day operations and fully supported the team’s entry into the Barclays FA Women’s Super League (WSL).
“Last year, we staged the first Women’s north London derby in the top flight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which set a new all-time attendance record for the WSL of 38,262. We have also this week launched a new Female Talent Pathway, enabling us to help aspiring young female footballers develop their skills from a young age to play at the highest level possible.
“Equality and inclusion is of paramount importance to us as a club and is central to everything we do.
“Our men’s players have shown cohesiveness with our women’s team by attending matches in support of the players, engaging with them on social media and appearing alongside each other at community events as we recognise that our men’s and women’s players provide equal inspiration to young people within our local area.
“Our women’s team has a dedicated home at The Hive Stadium – training is split between The Hive and our training centre, based on logistical requirements and in compliance with regulations pertaining to gender-appropriate changing areas.
“Players have full access to appropriate training facilities and medical provision at all times, including those utilised by our men’s and academy teams when they train at our training centre, where both the men’s and women’s teams are undergoing tests for COVID-19.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Having been a loyal servant for Spurs since 2015, Morgan certainly can speak with authority about the club’s internal working and deserves to be listened to. Let’s hope that the club can walk the walk as well as talking the talk over the coming years in order to elevate women’s football up to the same level as the men’s.
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