ALICE WEEKES APPOINTED SWANSEA CITY'S FIRST HEAD OF WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Swansea City is delighted to confirm the appointment of Alice Weekes as the club’s first head of women’s football.
Weekes joins the Swans from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), where she has worked as partnerships manager since 2020.
The 34-year-old’s time with the WRU coincided with the Wales Women team moving to professional status in 2021; with the national squad now having 32 full-time contracted players.
Prior to her role with the WRU, Weekes spent four years with the M&C Saatchi agency in London, and worked across a number of sports and events, including football, rugby and the Olympics.
While her most recent role was within rugby, Weekes has a long-held passion for football, having been an aspiring young player, only to see her on-field involvement ended by the lack of a development pathway.
One of Weekes’ aims in her new position will be to oversee the establishment and implementation of a pathway that raises the standard of, and access to, football for girls and women across south-west Wales.
Additionally, she will seek to drive further success for the club’s senior women’s team, who are six-time Welsh champions and in the hunt for further silverware this season, having been fully integrated into Swansea City and become semi-professional last summer.
Weekes will also have responsibility for the commercial development of Swansea City Women, who drew a crowd of 3,859 against Wrexham at the Swansea.com Stadium earlier this season. That attendance was nearly treble the previous record for such a fixture.
“I’m really excited to be joining Swansea City at such a pivotal time for the women’s team, and for women’s and girls’ football in Wales,” said Weekes.
“The club has already taken a significant step with Swansea City Women becoming semi-professional last summer, and the vision and passion shown by (chairman) Andy (Coleman) and the club towards growing the women’s game immediately drew me to the role.
“The opportunity to play a part in that process is a real privilege and I can’t wait to get started.”
Swansea City chairman Andy Coleman said: “This is such a big moment for Swansea City. We could not have found a better person to be the first head of women’s football than Alice.
“We are committed to helping grow the women’s game and giving aspiring young footballers opportunities to thrive, not just in Swansea but across Wales.
“I am tremendously excited for what Alice will bring to Swansea City and what she will deliver for women and girls in the area.”
Swansea City sporting director Paul Watson said: “I’m delighted to welcome Alice to the club and look forward to working with her.
“Swansea City Women are an important piece of our football department, and Alice will be a great addition.
“Her expertise and experience will help drive the development of the women’s and girls’ programme and pathway.”