Capital Football has flagged its intent to chase marquee recruits to bolster Canberra United's chances of getting back to the finals and increase membership next year, after the side did not win a match until their 10th game.
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A review will be conducted into United after they finished in seventh, accumulated the most draws in the league with seven and began their season with a nine-game winless streak in their 14 game 2021-22 season.
The club conducts season reviews after each A-League Women's season, but this season, after failing to live up to last season's form, it will also seek United members input with two goals outlined.
The first being for Canberra to reach the finals in the 2022-23 season, and the second, to increase membership numbers to build a base bigger than any other ALW team.
Chief executive Chris Gardiner will lead the "comprehensive" review, after he stepped in as interim replacement at the helm of Capital Football before locking in a one-year contract.
United have several hundred members, but he said it should be higher to fill the grandstand at Viking Park on game day, and one way they wanted to increase membership was through a bigger squad.
"The brand has got two elements. It was a founding and leader in the women's game professionally and people see United as a champion of the women's game. And then it's been a champion on the field ... so when it's not in the finals, it's a big deal," he said.
"[Friday] all of our members will get an email that will give them a link that allows them to have direct input. It'll ask them lots of questions about their experience and what's worked, what hasn't and what their ideas are. So I want to get that first and then I can talk about what I think we can do to use that information.
"The reality is we've got good names in the team in terms of people like [Michelle] Heyman, [Ash] Sykes and [Grace] Maher. We had a squad that could be bigger, in my view, and so if we grow the squad that does allow us to go out and try and attract some other core players that would bring interest from the members."
He said the review would begin with head coach Vicki Linton's report, in addition to covering the teams, players and Linton's own performance this season with a big focus on player retention and recruitment.
"It will also, however, cover ... the support framework the club provided for the team and coaching staff; player perspectives; and member feedback on their club and match day experience and their views on strengthening the club," he said.
"We have contacted Professional Footballers Australia and will want to incorporate their season survey information into the review."
Gardiner's role outside of United, and in the ACT competitions, will be to deliver their strategy priorities including stakeholder engagement and satisfaction, and he said he had started to do so, addressing some of the more than 30 concerns raised by 12 key stakeholders in a letter last month.
Alongside building female participation to 30 per cent in the sport, with the capital nearing close but still yet to reach it.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
