The notoriously masculine world of English football changed a little here on Wednesday when Lorraine Rogers, chairman of First Division Tranmere became the first woman to be elected on to the Football League board.
The 37-year-old former director of Hambro's Bank joins the six-member board as replacement for Wolves' John Richards, who is no longer eligible to stand as he is not a director at the Molineux club.
The Football League, the representative body for clubs in England's First, Second and Third Divisions, believe it is the first time a woman has ever held such a high office in the sport, although Rogers is playing down the significance of her election.
Rogers said: "I am not in favor of positive discrimination of any kind. I believe I should be judged on the work I do, not my gender."
After taking over the chairman's role at Prenton Park in June last year, Rogers is still a relative newcomer to football's internal machine.
She initially intends to raise certain questions about the way the Football League is run as part of a 'healthy debate'.
Rogers also believes the Football League should become more pro-active rather than just reacting to dictates laid down from their counterparts at the Premier League and Football Association.
With former Football League chief executive Richard Scudamore now employed in a similar role at the Premier League, Rogers feels her organization has a friendly ear into which they can speak and voice their concerns for the future of the game.
At the top of that list is the confusion surrounding the legality of the current transfer system, which has been questioned by the European Commission.
"There are deep concerns about this issue because it could possibly affect Football League clubs more than anyone else," said Rogers.
"It is hard to resist the argument that sport should not be treated separately from other industries and we have produced a joint document with the Premier League and Professional Footballers' Association to that effect" -- LONDON (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
