A big responsibility: Aston Villa Women’s female leadership look to blaze a trail

Bodymoor Heath, England – Walk through the new, purpose-built women’s wing at Aston Villa’s training complex and the first thing you notice is the sound of doors opening—literally and figuratively. “After you,” says Marisa Ewers, the club’s director of women’s football, pausing at the threshold of the facility she helped design. The gesture is small, but the symbolism is not: Ewers, 31, retired as a Villa midfielder in 2022 and moved straight into the boardroom, determined to clear a path for the next generation of women in football governance.

She is not alone. Villa now run their women’s operation with an all-female triumvirate at the summit: Ewers; Maggie Murphy, managing director; and head coach Natalia Arroyo. Add chief people officer Lisa Bailey, head of football administration Sharon Barnhurst and general counsel Victoria Wilkes, and the club can claim one of the most gender-balanced senior structures in elite European football.

“We have a really big responsibility in helping other women step into the space,” Ewers tells reporters ahead of Sunday’s Women’s Super League fixture against Manchester City, a match the club will dedicate to International Women’s Day. “If women see it’s possible at a big club like this, it’s huge.”

The trio bring three distinct passports and CVs to the project. Arroyo, a former Barcelona player, spent a decade in Spanish television before swapping the press box for the technical area. Appointed Villa head coach 13 months ago, she insists she never views her colleagues through a gender lens. “I’m never looking at people or roles from the gender perspective,” she says. “I celebrate that the club is so natural and brave.”

Murphy arrived last autumn after V Sports, Villa’s parent company, bought the women’s team outright and established it as a stand-alone entity. The 38-year-old Irish executive previously ran second-tier Lewes FC and has wasted little time reconnecting a fan-base that felt distant from decision-makers. “In the six months that I’ve been here, the first thing we’ve done is try to reconnect with the fans and build that trust,” she says. “I’m probably most proud of our relationship with the fans.”

On Sunday that relationship will be showcased in tangible form. Villa have partnered with Level Playing Field to highlight accessibility for disabled supporters; the starting line-ups will be revealed on the big screen in British Sign Language; and a guard of honour made up of local female role models will welcome the teams onto the pitch as part of a networking event designed to coincide with International Women’s Day.

Victory on the pitch would help, too. Villa sit ninth in the WSL, seven points clear of bottom club Bristol City and three shy of the top-half positions that could secure continental qualification. Memories of conceding seven goals against Tottenham last month still sting. “We need to go back to basics,” Arroyo admits. “Be more solid defensively.”

Long-term ambition, however, remains Himalayan. “What’s Everest? Probably winning titles, winning the Champions League,” Ewers says. “Now I think we are at base camp. It takes a long time to get to base camp.”

The climb continues Saturday evening when Manchester City, the league leaders, visit Villa Park. Off the field, the club has already reached one summit: proof that a Premier League giant can place women in the sport’s most influential positions and thrive. Whether they can turn that governance revolution into silverware is the next chapter—one Ewers, Murphy and Arroyo are determined to author together.

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