Club runs into hot water over 'merger' of female teams

BURTON Albion have come under fire after plans to merge two junior women's football set-ups they have been running were confirmed.

- By COLSTON CRAWFORD

The move has meant players in some teams feel they are being left out and the club was widely criticised this week in a series of social media posts shared with mainstream media outlets.

Now the Brewers have issued a statement attempting to clarify the situation - but the complexity of the issue has meant they have struggled to get their point across.

The controversy arose when a girls' under-16 squad competing in the Central Warwickshire League Under-16s league, who have won promotion from Division One this season, were told their team would be disbanded, with no option to move up to under-18s next season.

They are also due to play at St George's Park in a Premier League Kicks tournament national final in July.

This team, however, is a "grassroots" side that has been operated under the auspices of the Burton Albion Community Trust, the main club's charity arm. Several other age group teams, including an under-18 side, have been run this way.

For some years, the main club, Burton Albion FC, has also run an academy set-up which does not have an under-18 set-up. With that, after under-16, players are invited to trial for the main club, and several players in their late teens feature for Burton Albion Women's first team in the West Midlands Regional League Premier Division.

The club have therefore stated that Burton Albion FC have never run an under-18 side - which is technically correct.

Further confusion comes from the fact that both the under-18 side and a development side which have been run under the Community Trust auspices have been referred to as "Burton Albion Development" and "Burton Albion FC U18 (Women)" in league competitions.