We are delighted to announce that from next season Exeter City Ladies will be renamed Exeter City Women.
It is a move designed to modernise the club and bring Cityâs womenâs team in line with clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea as well as the FA and its affiliated leagues. Â
Sharon Dixon, an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter who is a member of the Womenâs Technical Board and supports the female football pathway at Exeter City, explained the reasoning behind the decision.Â
"âLadies' is associated with behaviour, rather than just being a description,â she said. âThe term comes with many negative associations, such as âladylike behaviourâ, and âladies donât sweatâ. So by labelling a womenâs team as âladiesâ you are giving subconscious instructions on how the players should behave.
âIt is therefore considered to be patronising to refer to a womenâs team as âladiesâ. âWomenâ is also a powerful word. For example, you hear reference to strong, independent women, which would not be a description you would hear used for ladies.
âIn summary, âwomenâ is the female equivalent of âmenâ, and so is a parallel term, and as such, this is the most suitable term for a football club to use to differentiate between a womenâs and a menâs team."
Exeter City Women will start next season in the FA Womenâs National League Division One South West, following a successful campaign that saw them win the South West Womenâs Football League Premier Division by six points, reach the semi-final of the Devon Senior Cup and get to third qualifying round of SSE Womenâs FA Cup.