When Fern Whelan decided to continue her football journey after retiring, there weren't a lot of role models to look to within football governance, so she decided to be the role model for the next generation herself.
Whelan, 35, hung up her boots in 2020. The England international, who ended her career in the WSL with Brighton, has since taken up a role with the Professional Footballers' Association as its first Equality, Diversity and Inclusion women's football executive.
The PFA only launched its new women's division in 2020, with Whelan taking up her role the following year. Her impact has already been felt, with the Football Black List recognising her achievements with a practitioners award in 2024.
Speaking to Mirror Football at the awards ceremony in London, Whelan opened up on the support she has received from other ex-pros including former Premier League striker and PFA senior equalities education executive Jason Lee. And, while she might be one of the first to blaze a trail, she's determined not to be the last.
"A lot of the work I do is around [showing current players there's that pathway], and that's why I set up a programme called 'See it, achieve it' with the PFA," Whelan says. "That's been running for two and a half years now and it's all about visible role models, so the young girls coming through can see that there's an avenue for them within the game.
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"And then the same for the players who exit the game, who want then to try to stay in the game as much as possible. So we try and encourage them to go into coaching, board roles, administration roles. We're supporting that as much as we possibly can so the visibility is there."
While the PFA's overall remit is the professional game, Whelan has worked closely with the FA and Premier League to also support grassroots players coming through. She points to Lee's club visits to Brighton when she was still playing, saying it's something she remembers fondly, and Lee has returned the favour by attending the awards to support his colleague.
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Fern Whelan played WSL football for Brighton before taking up her PFA role (Kate McShane/Getty Images)Questions over a lack of diversity in the England women's set-up led the FA's Paul Elliott to warn about the risk of turning black girls off football. Previously, Arsenal had recognised a lack of diversity in their own women's squad, while Arsenal and England star Lotte Wubben-Moy acknowledged the Lionesses squad "doesn’t reflect the country’s demographic as a whole" and stressed the need for diversity off the pitch as well as on it.
“But I don’t think it’s a matter of looking onto the pitch at the team that’s fielded out there. It’s looking at the boardrooms, in the scouting rooms, in the coaching staff, where you don’t see the reflection of London or England," she added.
Whelan has taken steps to improve visibility, one of the first steps many feel is required. The 'See it, achieve it' scheme involves mentoring elements, and received support from the get-go from England internationals Demi Stokes, Nikita Paris and Anita Asante.
More recently, Whelan has welcomed former Brighton team-mate Victoria Williams as a colleague at the PFA. Things have been picking up when it comes to representation and, while no one plans to stand still, Whelan says "It's a really good place to be".
Former Nottingham Forest striker Jason Lee was full of praise for Whelan (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)"[Football governance] is something I'm encouraging more and more young players to take an interest in and hopefully mentor them and help them get into this space," Lee tells Mirror Football. "Because the game will continue to evolve and change but we need to be part of that process. So working for the PFA, the union, we always want to have a big say in what happens in terms of playing football.
"We can't just be players, we can't just be the talent. We want to be the decision makers. We can and we will be the decision makers. We can be captains and leaders and managers and owners, so it's about creating those pathways and hopefully giving people the opportunity and inspiring them to go and achieve their goals."
Lee admits black role models in positions like his were "few and far between" when he made the move into governance. However, through work alongside Football Black List founder Leon Mann and former England striker and QPR director of football Les Ferdinand, he has worked to increase that visibility.
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"We need more and more people doing those things," adds Lee, was recognised on the Football Black List in both 2018 and 2020. "For myself to be in administration, which is what I got an award for, practicioner, we have to put ourselves out there and sometimes out of our comfort zone."
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