Fern Whelan exclusive interview: 'Female players now have their own safe space to report concerns'

As the Professional Football Association’s first executive for equality, diversity and inclusion in women’s football – a position she has taken up just six months after giving birth to her first child – Fern Whelan has her hands full.

The new mum to baby Jenson unsurprisingly has maternity contracts – which remain practically nonexistent in the women’s top flight – as a priority along with tackling online abuse.

Georgia Stanway was the latest victim of abusive messages after being sent off nine days ago in the Manchester derby – a match which drew a record 1.1 million peak audience on BBC1 as the Women’s Super League continues to reap the rewards of its £8 million broadcast deal. “It’s probably bigger than us and the PFA,” Whelan, the former Brighton player, says. “Obviously, the players are in the public eye a lot more – a couple of years ago Georgia wouldn’t have gotten that abuse. My role is about being a face for the players so they know that we’re there as their union – that’s the first bit I want to delve into as much as possible.”

It has been more than a year since Whelan hung up her boots after endless knee injuries put paid to her 15-year career which also included spells at Everton, Liverpool and Notts County and three England caps. Retirement offered time for reflection, which has become a buzzword for women’s football of late after it was rocked with allegations of sexual abuse in America, Australia and Venezuela.

Whelan is quick to point out that each WSL club have a designated safeguarding officer to report such concerns – or players can approach the PFA directly – and says she wants to help foster a culture where players can air any grievances openly.

“You’d like to hope that these types of things haven’t happened in our league – but as you saw over the course of the week, all the players are standing up for the players across the rest of the world, which is amazing to see,” says Whelan, touching on the show of solidarity from the English players at matches. “I think there might have been a culture in the past where players were scared to say anything, but we want players to feel comfortable and know that they have a safe space [to report concerns].”

Never one to publicly air her views as a player, having experienced the game largely before the explosion of social media, Whelan admits the murder of George Floyd last year was a “turning point” in her wanting to be more vocal about the lack of diversity in women’s football.

Black athletes make up an estimated 10 to 15 per cent of players in the WSL – significantly less than in the men’s top tier – and Whelan points to the grass-roots scene as the instigator for change. “It’s about chatting to the academies, their recruitment departments, seeing how they generate their pools of players,” says Whelan, who used to be ferried by her mum and sister on public transport on a four-hour round trip from her home on the outskirts of Liverpool to Tranmere’s centre of excellence as a child.

“Is every young female getting access to training or the elite level? Or are they having to get six million buses? We want them [players of colour] to be visible, for the pathways to follow through, so they can get to the WSL stage and filter through to our Lionesses team so we have more people from diverse backgrounds playing for England on the big stage.”

At the heart of Whelan’s determination is the desire to repay an organisation that helped her throughout so much of her career. “I got my physiotherapy degree through the PFA. Wellbeing-wise, I’ve seen a lot of their councillors from time to time. I really lent on them.” Now, she says, is the time to give back by helping to elevate the female game.