PRESS RELEASE FROM WAR, Tuesday 24/01/2017
WOMEN CALL ON FA TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS BASED ON MERIT
Newly formed Charlton supporters' group, WAR (Women Against the Regime), today calls on the FA not to appoint Charlton CEO Katrien Meire to higher office.
Like many fans throughout football, WAR supports the need for greater diversity and believes that more women should be in positions of influence in the sport. However, we also believe that any such appointments should be based on competence, not simply gender. Given her track record as CEO at Charlton, the appointment of Katrien Meire would be a tick box appointment and not one that would benefit football.
CEO of Charlton Athletic is the first senior managerial post of any kind for intellectual property lawyer, Katrien Meire. During her three years in charge she has shown herself to be incompetent as she has presided over the relegation of the team, constant churn in managerial and other senior roles at the club and mounting financial debt. Above all, she has driven a wedge between our once model club and its supporters.
We assert that the appointment of Katrien Meire to the FA Board, just because she is an available female, would be a set-back for women in the game and for women in business.
Who are Women Against the Regime (WAR)?
We are a group of female supporters of Charlton Athletic FC. Our acronym is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the assertion about fan protests by CEO Katrien Meire in her talkSPORT interview on 27/10/16 that “this war, if we can refer to this as a war, is resolved through talking.”
For over a year we have individually supported peaceful, lawful, legitimate protests against the owner Roland Duchâtelet, his spokeswoman in Charlton, Katrien Meire, and their poor stewardship of the club. We no longer believe the issue of their incompetent management of Charlton Athletic can be resolved by talking, because the evidence of the past three years is that, although they may talk when it suits them, they do not actively listen.
We welcome the opportunity for capable women, as well as men, to excel in all areas of life, and feel well placed to counter perceptions of misogyny as the cause of the Charlton protests. We have scrutinised the public actions of Meire and Duchâtelet, and our contention is that this Regime is not fit for purpose. That one is a 32 year old female, and the other is a 70 year old male is totally irrelevant.
For further information contact: womenagainsttheregime@gmail.com
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Comments
Some of you have more competence in your little fingers than KM could ever hope for.
I know there are some serious loyal, intelligent women attached to this group who care deeply about our club. Really hope they can (and I'm sure they will) add value to the existing groups.
Well done
Well said, all you Women Against the Regime.
Why is is Womem Against the Regieme and not Women Against Rolamd btw ?
(Love your spell-checker, btw!)
Looking forward to your invitation to a fans group pre match meeting with Katrien Meire.