So today the the bids for the reformed WSL and Women's Championship has been announced as the FA decided in their infinite wisdom that the thing women's football needs right now is for the entire top division to go professional (yes, gotta love that sustainable growth) and it just displays what a joke women's football is. So here are the teams that are in it: •Arsenal •Birmingham City Ladies •Brighton & Hove Albion Women •Bristol City Women •Chelsea FC Women •Everton Ladies FC •Liverpool Ladies FC •Manchester City Women •Reading FC Women •Yeovil Town Ladies •West Ham United Ladies* Subject to the above, the 12 clubs which will form The FA Women’s Championship for the 2018-2019 season are: •Aston Villa Ladies FC •Doncaster Rovers Belles •Durham Women FC •London Bees •Millwall Lionesses •Sheffield FC Ladies •Tottenham Hotspur Ladies •Charlton Athletic Women** •Leicester City Women* •Lewes FC Women* •Manchester United Women* •Sheffield United Ladies* Now why is this a joke? Let me begin: Sunderland have been relegated from WSL1 (the top tier) to the WPL, the third tier despite being one of the top teams, having a host of England players and having been hugely successful on the pitch for many years. But because they don't have enough money, they have experienced a double relegation. On the opposite side, West Ham, who last season were mid-table in the 3rd tier went straight into the 1st tier. Why? Because they have loads of money, they're in the premier league and they bought their place there. Essentially this and the above bullet point are this season's equivalent of the Doncaster/Man City joke of 2013. At least I now have two teams to hate. Manchester United, a club who didn't even have a senior women's team last season or the season before or before that. In fact they haven't had a women's team since 2005. Yet because they're Man United they go straight into the second tier, despite literally only just being formed. Which is a spit in the face to all the other clubs who have tried to got there on merit. Watford and Oxford have both been relegated from the WSL2 (now Championship), not on the pitch though, by committee. Sheffield United (yay another Sheffield team...), Lewes and Leicester were all promoted by committee, none of them won their league. Meanwhile Blackburn, who won the WPL North (the third tier) but lost in the play-off against Charlton (who were promoted, the only good decision to come out of today). So win the league, don't get promoted. Finish mid-table and you will. Though in fairness, if any team is going to get promoted by committee, Lewes would be one of the ones up there. They pay their women and men's teams the same, they seem well run, they make some awesome programme covers, and they follow me on Twitter! But yes, women's football is a joke. There was actually a lot of talk about Southampton getting a place (a lot of people think they were going to), I think they did apply but didn't make the cut so I guess it does affect you as Southampton fans too. I'm not sure if Portsmouth did, I don't think they did. In the top tier, which is professional, I think it's only a matter of time before the top tier is filled with clubs whose men's teams are in Premier League. The likes of Yeovil and Bristol City won't be able to compete in the long-run because they don't have the infinite amount of money as those in the Premier League.
Great post, well informed and well written. Those ****wits at the FA are clearly demonstrating their contempt for the woman’s game and commercialism at its most merciful. It takes me back to the days where woman chained themselves to fences and burned their bras, and for what exactly? I mean, what the **** - no Saints team awarded a place straight into the very top tier. Seriously I can’t believe we’ve been overlooked. I’m with you PL - they shafted us all...
The best way to end the perceived sexism in professional sport is to make it all gender neutral, like motor-racing is.
Don't follow womens football and from what you have written would certainly not encourage me to. I agree that the league appears to be a joke, just like the appointment of Neville as national coach. It seems a long time ago when Doncaster belles were the team to beat. Out of interest what happens to this new man utd team if they have not had a team before. Have they got some players or will they just go and buy the best players around, much like the men's team do?
I never thought anything could make me think men's football is a well-run,equitable and ethical game... but women's football is it.
It's almost as if the introduction of money into the game, as well as increased meddling by the FA, is probably detrimental. That's a shocker, eh? Southampton did apply, but overall the Saints Ladies "team" has been managed somewhat half-arsed by the club. I'm not sure you can actually call it a team, as they don't play in any league (they could have joined the Hampshire Women's league, but thought it beneath them, and have been less than helpful to the existing ladies sides in the city). All they do is play friendlies and have training camps which seems very odd, and probably didn't help their application to join the WSL etc. Be interesting to see if the club persists with Ladies teams, or quietly drop them?
I'm not surprised that we didn't get in...we are rather new to the game. Can't run before you can walk.
Saints have been barely crawling. If they were serious about the women's game, they would be at least walking by now.
I've decided I'm going to boycott England now. I wasn't sure, because usually I'm able to disassociate the international game with the domestic game, but given these changes are always harped on about benefiting the England team, by supporting them I am complicit with this corruption... so **** that.
