Emma Byrne: Finding her home at Lewes FC

“I just want to work somewhere that’s supportive and that respects women and respects coaches and respects people and respects each other because I can’t be dealing with any kind of negative environment or any kind of toxic environment.”

Emma Byrne has found what she is looking for, at third-tier Lewes FC, where she is in her first season as head coach. Lewes has been referred to in shorthand as “Equality FC” because it pays its men and women equally regardless of the level they are playing at, and they are also committed to working with commercial partners whose values link with theirs.

Emma immediately felt that Lewes was the right place for her as soon as she stepped into the club, but after discussions with head of women’s football Lynne Burrell and COO Kelly Lindsey, she was even more sure of her decision.

“It just so happens that the club is ambitious, so they’ve got all the nice extras, but for me, it was all about the environment. You speak about equality, but when you say equality, I just hear respect for everybody and respect for whoever is working here and whoever belongs to the club, and that is here in abundance. It’s definitely the right place for me.”

“A great club”

Emma was familiar with Lewes, their set-up and their ethos because she had travelled there previously to watch one of her Ireland goalkeepers, Sophie Whitehouse.

“It was just such a lovely environment to come down to and to speak with the general manager, and people on the board were all very friendly, very down to earth. [The ground is] dog friendly, which was a massive, massive bonus for me - I thought that was incredible to see dogs in the stadium!

“But more importantly, [Lewes has] really good people running a club and trying to do it the right way and in a very supportive environment, which is hard to find in football, so I knew straight away that it was a great club and that I felt very good just going to watch the games, and I felt very good speaking to people here.

“When they did get in touch saying they needed a hand, it was very easy because I needed time on the pitch. They needed someone to come in and help them out in what was already a great structure. I needed a really good environment to be in.

“So it was a win-win.”