11/03/2024
The Guardian Newspaper reports that community football club Camden and Islington United, which plays in London's amateur leagues has withdrawn from the Sunday Wembley Cup for amateur sides after it had a fixture scheduled against a club calling themselves Munter Hunters FC. Munter is a derogatory term for someone who is unattractive and is typically targeted at women. After further investigation they found offensive content on the team’s public social media platforms. Nick Wigmore, the founder and CEO of Camden and Islington United and a player on the Sunday team, said: “We built Camden and Islington United precisely because we wanted to show that football could and should be done differently. We have over 50% women on our board, we have an equal number of men’s and women’s teams, and we have women coaching across genders. Similarly, we have coaches, both men and women, with Black and Asian heritage leading the women’s programme, which has historically excluded women from global ethnic majorities … This recent incident reconfirms that there is still much work to be done, to educate and embolden leagues to take decisive action when they are made aware of offensive and discriminatory behaviour.” A Football Association spokesperson said: “We are working with the Amateur Football Alliance to support their investigation so that the appropriate steps can be taken. We strongly condemn all forms of misogyny, which has no place in football or wider society, and we will ensure action is taken against any club or individual that is found guilty of this behaviour. All allegations of this nature are taken very seriously and will not be tolerated in our game.”