West Ham United women’s managing director Jack Sullivan has been raving about the support he has received from the men’s team.
Sullivan, the son of Hammers co owner David Sullivan, has made great strides in elevating the women’s team in east London, and he believes his father and his colleagues have been key.
“He’s a fantastic person to learn off, he’s been involved in football for 25 years, and I think for me to have that guidance is great,” he told Love Sport Radio.
“And also, when you go into work here, you can go home and get things done. If you need an extra bit of money, you can speak to the top man straight away. We are very lucky at West Ham that we have a men’s team that is very supportive.”
OPINION
Sullivan has clearly been very lucky in life, but he’s put a lot of hard work in as well. We can all moan about nepotism and claim that it’s unfair that he’s got the position that he has, but you can’t deny that he’s done a good job at the London Stadium. The West Ham women have really advanced under his watch in terms of both their on-the-field performance and in their profile in general. As Sullivan mentions later in the above clip, the Hammers’ women get huge attendances on a regular basis compared to most other clubs’ women’s teams. Sullivan’s been key to that. Obviously it does help him, like he says, that his dad is there pulling the strings at the club. When you have that relationship with the owner then he’s going to be far more likely to bankroll the women’s team than most club’s owners would be. So it all matters and it has all been important in the progression of West Ham’s women.