Caithness man appointed to top job in women's football
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A CAITHNESS man has netted a top job in women's football. Michael Sinclair, who comes from Thurso, has been appointed as the first chief executive of Hamilton Academical Women and Girls Football Club and is keen to establish links in the north and elsewhere in the Highlands. He also hopes the Accies women's team could be playing in Europe in five years time.
Sinclair, who is 54 and a former Thurso Acks and Wick Academy player, feels privileged to take on his new post.
He left Caithness to go south for work and never really came back. He gave up football in his 20s due to injury problems and had no involvement in the game until his daughter Lucy started playing.
She is 19 and has been a Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City player but now is with Hamilton Accies women's team and already has played over 60 games in the Premier League in Scotland.
With Sinclair's background in business and commercial development and his football connections, the club decided he would be the right person as the chief executive of Hamilton Academical Women and Girls Football Club. His appointment means he can sit on the Scottish Women's Premier League committee which has representatives of the 20 teams in the two leagues.
Sinclair is passionate about his role and wants to develop the team and encourage football scholarships so talented players can have an education as well as a career in the sport. He also wants to promote the club in the Highlands and give opportunities to young players in Caithness.
Sinclair plans to take Hamilton female footballers north next summer and spend a few days going round the schools to encourage the youngsters, talk to them, hold training sessions and show them what is possible. He stresses that football is not just about playing matches but also about fitness levels and nutrition.
He is confident the women's football will go from strength to strength with more money coming into the game and more coverage on television. "The sky's the limit in the women's game. The opportunities over the next 10 years are absolutely vast," he said.
Sinclair hopes that the Hamilton women's team will continue to progress and would like to see them playing in Europe in five years time.
"It is my intention to restructure and successfully develop Hamilton Academical Women and Girls Football Club to ensure strong and robust foundations which lead to success for the team," he said.
Sinclair is also keen to establish a path for community teams to progress to the professional ranks, "allowing females, regardless of ability, to enjoy the sport and, if they so wish, make a career as a professional sportswoman."
Hamilton FC described the appointment of Sinclair as "historic" and said it enables the women's and girls' teams to get their first representation on the club board.
Although Sinclair left Caithness as a young man he still has strong connections to the county and was deeply saddened when his best friend and former football colleague Shaun Moar passed away recently.
"He were childhood friends when we started with Thurso Acks under John Macdonald's management. John gave me an opportunity as a kid at Wick Academy from 13 years old and I am trying to do the same for the girls of Caithness.
"Shaun stayed my friend over all those years. He was a special person and he was the only one who knew I was taking this role. He was well chuffed a Springparker had done so well," he added.
Sinclair, who still has family in Thurso, stays in West Dunbartonshire.
