Derby County Football Club made a commitment to expanding its support for the women’s game earlier this year and today marks another milestone for the club with the full integration of the Women’s First Team.
The move has seen Manager Sam Griffiths, her coaching staff and the first team squad formalise their growing relationship with the Rams as contracted employees of Derby County, as part of owner David Clowes’ vision for the future of the club.
The relationship between the men’s and women's setups has grown substantially closer in recent years and the newly created Women’s Hub is in full operation at Moor Farm Training Ground, where they have use of all the facilities in place, as well as the establishment of a new elite player pathway.
The talent pipeline, which will aim to develop future First Team players, has replaced the Regional Talent Centre setup as the Football Association’s funding to the previous centre ceased at the end of the 2022/23 season, and will operate alongside the existing Derby County Women Academy grassroots teams.
The new development will blend the significant expertise within the women’s game held by the Community Trust and the existing highly respected Derby County Women’s Academy coaches.
The Derby County Women website is also being phased into the club’s official website to host the latest news, previews, match reports, fixture details, player profiles, match highlights and much more in one natural place.
Speaking about the move, Derby County’s Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Pearce, said: “This is another significant moment for us as a football club and we’re delighted to formally welcome Derby County Women’s first team as official employees.
“This has been a step that we discussed around a year ago, once our owner David Clowes completed the takeover of the club, so to see the dream become a reality inside 12 months is an incredible feat.
“Some extremely stable foundations have been put in place by those associated with Derby County Women over the years and, with the work of several individuals remaining as part of the setup moving forward, we’re looking forward to seeing how we can progress our support of the Women’s game to another level.”
He added: “While the Women’s first team are integrated into the club, it’s also an exciting moment for the Female Talent Pathway and the squads that run from Under-10 to Under-20 level under the umbrella of Derby County Community Trust.”
“Now we have everything officially under the ‘One Club’ badge we can’t wait to get the season up and running and I am sure it will be an exciting one for everyone connected to Derby County Women,” he concluded.
Following the integration of the Women’s First Team into the main club, a new Executive Structure has been confirmed for Derby County Women. The Executive Structure compromises of senior staff members from Derby County Football Club itself in Stephen Pearce, Sarah Edwards, Dave Biggar and Simon Carnall and several key individuals that have been heavily involved in the running of Derby Women in recent years in Sheila Rollinson, Ranj Cooner and Resh Dorka.