The newly formed Kyneton Women’s Football Club is facing the prospect of being unable to play this year after being rejected by three local leagues.
The women who have joined the Kyneton Eagles had hoped to continue playing in the Riddell District Football Netball League, where they had played the past two seasons as part of the Kyneton FNC, but were last week refused by the league board.
Those who defected from KFNC say they are seeking better support, safety and equitable resources than was being offered by the old-established Kyneton club.
The Riddell league rejection follows earlier refusals from the Bendigo and Ballarat leagues.
Eagles club president Natalie Korinfsky said the club was bitterly disappointed to miss out on playing in the Riddell league and criticised the logic behind the decision.
“They claim that they are concerned we can’t be financial sustainable, that we might not be able to attract volunteers,” she said.
“But the club is already financially sustainable and has enough committed funds to run for the season, and three major sponsors have signed on for three-year contracts.
“They don’t think we can have the name Kyneton, because there is already an FNC with the Kyneton name.
“Our name is the Kyneton Eagles. We don’t believe any one entity or club should be able to own a town name.
“In the RDFNL there are already clubs affiliated with the same town name (Melton and Gisborne). We would expect the same process and test to be applied to us.”
WANT A FAIR GO
Ms Korinfsky said the Eagles just wanted a fair go to play football locally.
“We have an established independent club set up. We have the players, the coaches, trainers, volunteers, sponsors and members,” she said.
“How are there still so many barriers to women accessing sport?”
In a statement, the RDFNL said it had worked on five different models to workshop an ideal outcome but could not accommodate the team this season.
“The RDFNL board, in conjunction with our affiliated clubs and AFL Victoria, is willing to revisit the KWFC proposal for the 2026 season,” the board said.
The league had encouraged the KWFC to consider joining another club, such as Woodend or Gisborne Giants, or even the Mount Alexander Falcons, which is another independent women’s club that is supportive of the breakaway Kyneton club.
But Ms Korinfsky said the women’s team didn’t want to sit under the old football netball structure that was being offered.
“We have been under that system for 10 years and are still seeing a lack of support and respect for our team,” she said.
“We want change and we believe we deserve the right to have our independent club be treated fairly and get access to our local league so our players can play community football.”
More than 1600 people have so far signed a Change.Org petition backing the Eagles’ bid to join the RDFNL.
Meanwhile KFNC is continuing to seek players to field its own women’s team this season.
