Stanway leads criticism of Blackburn after minimum wage reports for women

The England midfielder Georgia Stanway and the former Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron have been among those to criticise Blackburn after reports the club will be paying women’s team players merely minimum wage next season on 16-hour-a-week contracts.

The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that Blackburn, who play in the second tier of the women’s pyramid, are set to be constrained by a playing budget of just £100,000 for next season. Their players, who are all semi-professional, will receive salaries of £9,000. It is understood such salaries have previously been common at the club in previous seasons.

Stanway labelled the news “very sad”, while Farron, a Blackburn fan who is standing for re-election as the MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale, labelled the club a “disgrace”, saying Blackburn should “hang their heads in shame”.

Bayern Munich’s Stanway, who came through Blackburn’s youth system before signing for Manchester City in 2015, said on X: “Myself and so many others are indebted to the opportunities Blackburn gave us when we were younger. Very sad to see the club choosing not to back their women’s team. Football and people in the North West need Blackburn to continue to properly support the game!”

The club declined to comment when contacted for a response.

Stanway’s England teammates Keira Walsh and Ella Toone are also products of Blackburn’s youth setup. Blackburn’s men’s club has been owned by the Indian-owned company Venky’s since 2010 and their most recent set of financial accounts stated the club has debts of more than £140m.

Blackburn’s women’s team finished sixth in last season’s 12-team Championship, ending the campaign 10 points off promotion. On 29 June, the club announced the departures of 10 players at the end of their contracts.

The former Blackburn defender Kayleigh McDonald also criticised the club on social media, responding to Stanway’s words by labelling her old club as “box tickers” and claiming the women’s team previously were discouraged from using the men’s team’s coffee machine.

Reports of financial constraints at Blackburn come less than a week after Reading, who were also in the Championship last term, withdrew from the division over financial concerns and were dropped down to tier five of the women’s pyramid.