Our Official Partners Worcester City Women Football Club (WCWFC) and ODISEE embark on a new project together
As part of our new Includability ConneXXions range of articles we caught up with Nicole Allison, Chairperson and CEO at WCWFC and Includability Ambassador, Sara Matthews - Founder of ODISEE and now Board Advisor to WCWFC.
Nicole and Sara were introduced to each other through the Includability community and have forged a new partnership based on their mutual values of including diversity and inclusion principles and wellbeing initiatives in footballing organisations.
We found out about their exciting new project to create a best practice infrastructure and prepare the club for an ambitious rise through the football pyramid and entering the professional women’s leagues.
Nicole re-formed WCWFC (previously Worcester City Ladies) in her hometown having worked in the football industry for over 10 years including previously being a player and coach. She was initially introduced to Includability through her First Team Manager, Matt Lock who is an Includability Ambassador and Co-Founder of our Verification Partners, Outliers Wellbeing.
Our drive to have sporting organisations as an integral part of our community, especially our partnerships with football clubs and organisations like Chelsea FC attracted Nicole to join Includability. She was introduced to Sara through our community hubs and immediately found synergy to work together.
Sara’s expertise as the former HR Director at Chelsea FC and her focus and understanding of women’s football, was key to creating this partnership. With their knowledge and expertise the goal for both Sara and Nicole is to progress the infrastructure of Worcester City Women FC to the extent they would be ready to join the professional leagues through sustainable success on the pitch and inclusive business development off the pitch, with the ultimate goal of one day being able to join the top tier as part of the Women’s Super League (WSL).
Talking to us about how Includability helped create such a beneficial partnership to her business,
Nicole said, “This community of Includability is all about supporting each other. The support and the proactivity to push us together has been incredibly valuable for the club and for me, personally. This is a powerful partnership for the women’s football industry, there are many great people in this industry but to get them working together with a common goal and direction, I don’t know anyone else doing this type of project.”
Sara added, “We have formed a really great friendship, we have very similar values, and it will be very exciting for the future. It probably wouldn’t have occurred without Includability and the power of the community.”
This fantastic new partnership will look to upgrade all elements of the club both on and off the pitch, from the club’s culture to sponsorship and the facilities available to the players and the wider volunteer community.
This will range from services provided by the club such as post-game meals, discounts for season ticket holders, new research initiatives for female athletes, revamped values and revamped structures and practices, and looking at the foundations of the club’s long-term sustainability.
Nicole said, “I want us to be the case study shining a light on how to do things properly. It’s not just about winning football matches, but when you do things right, the outcome is winning and growth.”
The club is looking to take a community led approach to these initiatives with the ambition of climbing up from the non-professional 5th tier of women’s football to then very pinnacle of the professional leagues.
New well-being initiatives also on the agenda including medical and injury support, financial advice services as players balance working with training and games, career development programmes, networking opportunities, kit provisions and signposting to organisations that cater to personal mental health, wellbeing and sustainable living needs through the Includability community.
The new long-term vision for the club is to have these initiatives embedded as the club finds success and is promoted through the amateur system to potentially semi-professional leagues and beyond, this infrastructure to carry the club further will already be in place.
In the short term, the new initiatives have already translated into increased player satisfaction, which the club will hope to reap as greater success on the field.
Jess Fassnidge, WCWFC Club Captain said:
“I have never felt more at home at a club than I do with WCWFC. The club's visions and values are not just documented on paper or a website, they are embedded in the players, staff and community. There is immense support for the players in relation to well-being and every person feels valued with the endless amounts of opportunities that are open for personal development. From medical services to strength and conditioning support, the club goes above and beyond to help players have opportunities to not only improve as a player, but to work on their personal skills and leadership off the pitch as well. As a player, I feel a sense of pride representing a club that is ambitious yet in the same breath is focused around sustainability and providing more opportunities for aspiring youth in the community.”
Nicole added, “All this work is designed to not only open up networks to our players, but it opens up their minds and thought processes of what careers they could have and what impact they could have on the world. So many of them have ambitions and goals but might not know how to direct their energy and channel it, and these initiatives can really help them.”
With word spreading of the innovative and groundbreaking initiatives Worcester City Women FC have put in place they have seen an increase in inquiries from potential players from higher leagues because they want to be involved in the inclusive culture the club is building.
While the primary objective of an ambitious sports club will remain taking a performance-based approach to recruiting talent, the club has signposts to other organisations suited to players’ talents.
Ultimately the goal of the club is to build on its already phenomenal foundations. From both a footballing and a community point of view, that development is well on the way to ensuring that the values of ‘La Familia’ will bring success when they climb the ladder by creating a dream team as commercial and footballing powerhouse.
Like Sara and Nicole, at Includability we understand the power of community networking and helping organisations create, not only a committed workplace, but also in developing connections with like minded professionals and businesses to help achieve business goals.
At Includability we are always looking at how we can celebrate the inclusive community you have helped create. We have launched a new set of articles called Includability ConneXXions which will be highlighting the networking side of the community and showcasing organisations that have used other Ambassadors, Members and Partner services to grow or help them in their goals to create an inclusive workplace. This will be promoted across the website, social media and newsletters and we would love to tell Your ConneXXion Stories
Please use the form below to let us know who, where and how Includability has Connected you with another company, person or organisation. Or email Chris at communications@includability.co.uk
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