- On 7 November, AS Baiona women's rugby team players decided not to play the French Cup game, as they have few resources compared to the other Elite 1 teams and the team leaders do not take into account their demands to go to the surface. After ten days, instead of responding to requests, the club’s management has decided to withdraw the team from the championship.
Nineteen members of the ASB Board of Directors voted this Wednesday for the team to end the season. Eighteen voted against and one to you, as Berria’s journalist Edu Lartzanguren says.
"It's not a punishment, even though the club members have taken it wrong," said club president Gilles Peynoche in France Bleu. It has also asked the French Rugby Federation and the City of Baiona to reflect on the following aspects: "To be in the elite, you need a pyramid. The pyramid is training, it's education."
The ASB’s management will meet on 23 November with representatives of the City Hall and the Federation, according to France Bleu, to discuss the present and future of women’s rugby and the team, including the financing of the club. In fact, more than 20% (EUR 66,000) of the club’s budget (EUR 300,000) is provided by the City Council, largely intended to promote women’s sport. For its part, the French Football Federation will meet urgently on Thursday evening.
For its part, the rugby players union Provale has described the decision of the ASB management as "regrettable" and is in contact with players to try to solve the problem.