WSL 2023-2024 | NewCo | Matchday Chat

[Rood]

Women's Super League and Women's Championship clubs have agreed to form a club-owned organisation that will run women's professional football in England from the 2024-25 season.

It will take control of the WSL and Championship from the Football Association, with each club in the two top tiers acting as shareholders.
Former Nike director Nikki Doucet will be the organisation's chief executive.

The FA has run the WSL since it was launched in 2010.

• WSL takeover: what are key decisions before next year's takeover completion?

A takeover of the WSL has been planned for some time after the FA revealed in 2018 that it had no intention to run the professional leagues in the long-term and welcomed proposals - including from the Premier League - before settling on the creation of an independent body.

The FA formed a working group of 10 chief executives from clubs in the top two tiers of English women's football, chaired by Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

It is hoped the new structure will capitalise on the rapid rise of women's football in recent years, accelerated by the England's success at Euro 2022.

Doucet was appointed consultant to lead the takeover discussions and has gathered feedback from current players within both leagues and met with the Professional Footballers Association to get its views.

All 24 clubs backed the proposed structure and Doucet, a former investment banker, will start her role immediately, overseeing the transition to the new organisation.

The company is yet to be formally set up and the name NewCo, short for new company, is a working title at this stage.

She said: "This is an incredibly exciting time for women's football. Having already worked with the clubs and the FA for a number of months, I've been incredibly encouraged by the collective desire and shared ambition to make our leagues the most distinctive, competitive and entertaining women's club competitions in the world."

"It's a great privilege to help lead the next phase of this inspirational journey, which has been started by the FA through passion, investment and a steadfast commitment to the evolution of women's football."

Baroness Sue Campbell, Director of Women's Football for the FA, said: "The women's professional game is in the strongest place that it has ever been thanks to the hard work of everybody involved in its development so far, but we firmly believe that the NewCo will take it to another level entirely.

"Each of our 24 clubs and the league itself wants the WSL and Championship to be setting the standards for women's football around the world, and this venture into a new governing body is the next step in us achieving that ambition."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67557863

 

[jojojo]

It's not obvious what they're actually going to do with it that's different to the FA. The fact the clubs are ready to take it over is a good sign. The women's game needs a more professional approach to scheduling and communications as well as marketing.

It's predicted that one of their first actions will be to ask the FA for permission to televise a match during the Saturday 3pm "protected" timeslot. There are also expectations around things like avoiding timing clash between a club's men's and women's matches and improving ticket sales arrangements for away fans.

Beyond those things there are things for the game itself. Immediate questions will be around the structure of the league - is it time to enlarge WSL1, how to manage promotion/relegation between WSL1 and the Championship and the Championship and the National Leagues.

Going forward, there's work needed on girls academies and improving not just the quality of training but it's availability and accessibility.

 

[Rood]

It's not obvious what they're actually going to do with it that's different to the FA. The fact the clubs are ready to take it over is a good sign. The women's game needs a more professional approach to scheduling and communications as well as marketing.

It's predicted that one of their first actions will be to ask the FA for permission to televise a match during the Saturday 3pm "protected" timeslot. There are also expectations around things like avoiding timing clash between a club's men's and women's matches and improving ticket sales arrangements for away fans.

Beyond those things there are things for the game itself. Immediate questions will be around the structure of the league - is it time to enlarge WSL1, how to manage promotion/relegation between WSL1 and the Championship and the Championship and the National Leagues.

Going forward, there's work needed on girls academies and improving not just the quality of training but it's availability and accessibility.

A huge opportunity for the Women's game to shape it's own future but yes we wait to hear the details.

Avoiding timing clashes between Men and Women teams of the same club is a big one and the 3pm blackout option is interesting, lots of other issues to deal with of course.

Ultimately though it's going to come down to financial sustainability and where the money comes from, attendances and TV numbers are growing so we now see Investment Funds sniffing around the Women's game as they can see the future growth:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67545037

Women's game needs to avoid mistakes made in Men's football to sell out too quickly to the commercial side though - difficult balance to find when much needed investment is offered but seems Lewes FC have turned down this initial offer from the Mercury13 group but I expect we will see similar offers coming.

 

[jojojo]

A huge opportunity for the Women's game to shape it's own future but yes we wait to hear the details.

Avoiding timing clashes between Men and Women teams of the same club is a big one and the 3pm blackout option is interesting, lots of other issues to deal with of course.

Ultimately though it's going to come down to financial sustainability and where the money comes from, attendances and TV numbers are growing so we now see Investment Funds sniffing around the Women's game as they can see the future growth:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/67545037

Women's game needs to avoid mistakes made in Men's football to sell out too quickly to the commercial side though - difficult balance to find when much needed investment is offered but seems Lewes FC have turned down this initial offer from the Mercury13 group but I expect we will see similar offers coming.

Sustainability is the single biggest issue for the women's game. We're starting to hit that dangerous moment where clubs are being encouraged to gamble in order to get promoted.

The money involved sounds trivial compared to men's football and in particular the Premier League. For context, the top WSL clubs cost between £5m and 10m/year to run, the lowest budgets are around the £1-2m mark. According to the balance sheet, United women make a small profit, most clubs make a small loss.

However, the figures are really woolly and largely dependant on the parent club's accounting procedures about how to apportion revenue (from sponsors etc) and expenses (like training ground and medical facilities).

A lot of clubs are in the wrong stadium to build their crowds. I complain about LSV but it's a good stadium and the size is currently about right for us (though may not be in the future).

Chelsea's women team stadium doesn't meet the minimum capacity (5000) needed for the UEFA CL and have been ordered to move their matches this season. Their response has been to use Stamford Bridge but with a maximum of 5000 tickets available. Any more and they hit their "large event" limit and that requires higher payments for stewarding, policing, traffic management and additional safety measures. The leap from a typical home gate at Kingsmeadow (about 3-4k depending on the opponent) to making Stamford Bridge a viable venue for them is huge.

 

[maniak]

Stop shoving this down our throats!

 

[jojojo]

Stop shoving this down our throats!

 

[WeePat]

Stop shoving this down our throats!

I’m surprised there hasn’t been a post like that disguised as ‘constructive criticism’ considering this thread is in the main football forum.

 

[maniak]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been a post like that disguised as ‘constructive criticism’ considering this thread is in the main football forum.

It's been moved now.

 

[Rood]

I’m surprised there hasn’t been a post like that disguised as ‘constructive criticism’ considering this thread is in the main football forum.

I have no idea why it's been moved here - as a Chelsea fan, I'm sure you would agree that this is not about United Women's Team, it's much bigger than that

 

[WeePat]

I have no idea why it's been moved here - as a Chelsea fan, I'm sure you would agree that this is not about United Women's Team, it's much bigger than that

Oh for sure. I wouldn’t even have seen this story had it been posted to the United women’s section, as I only check that section like once a week when there are games going on.

 

[Grande]

It’s going to be interesting to see how they go about it. For me, I notice that the lack of VAR heightens my enjoyment of the game.

 

[golden_blunder]

Petitioned the gaffer for a new WSL forum

 

[Rood]

Petitioned the gaffer for a new WSL forum

Good move !

was some confusion around about where non-United women's footy chat should go so this makes sense

 

[Rood]

Sustainability is the single biggest issue for the women's game. We're starting to hit that dangerous moment where clubs are being encouraged to gamble in order to get promoted.

The money involved sounds trivial compared to men's football and in particular the Premier League. For context, the top WSL clubs cost between £5m and 10m/year to run, the lowest budgets are around the £1-2m mark. According to the balance sheet, United women make a small profit, most clubs make a small loss.

However, the figures are really woolly and largely dependant on the parent club's accounting procedures about how to apportion revenue (from sponsors etc) and expenses (like training ground and medical facilities).

A lot of clubs are in the wrong stadium to build their crowds. I complain about LSV but it's a good stadium and the size is currently about right for us (though may not be in the future).

Chelsea's women team stadium doesn't meet the minimum capacity (5000) needed for the UEFA CL and have been ordered to move their matches this season. Their response has been to use Stamford Bridge but with a maximum of 5000 tickets available. Any more and they hit their "large event" limit and that requires higher payments for stewarding, policing, traffic management and additional safety measures. The leap from a typical home gate at Kingsmeadow (about 3-4k depending on the opponent) to making Stamford Bridge a viable venue for them is huge.

Interesting details there about budgets that I was not aware of.

Budgetwise I guess the gap from Championship to WSL is vast seeing as some Championship clubs operate only semi-professionally so I can understand the gamble clubs would take to get promoted.

also didnt realise Chelsea were limiting capacity at Stamford Bridge for WCL matches - that seems particularly crazy, although I did notice that they had much lower demand than the likes of Arsenal when they do play there for WSL matches.

 

[WeePat]

Interesting details there about budgets that I was not aware of.

Budgetwise I guess the gap from Championship to WSL is vast seeing as some Championship clubs operate only semi-professionally so I can understand the gamble clubs would take to get promoted.

also didnt realise Chelsea were limiting capacity at Stamford Bridge for WCL matches - that seems particularly crazy, although I did notice that they had much lower demand than the likes of Arsenal when they do play there for WSL matches.

This was very controversial in our fanbase, though my perception of just how bad the reaction is probably skewed by people in my social circle and the people I follow on twitter, who are mostly all engaged with women's football in one way or another. There are a lot of Chelsea fans who look at Arsenal with envy at how they've managed to harness the increased interest in women's football and leveraged it into more sustained support for their women's team. Chelsea could maybe get high crowd numbers for one off games but I don't think the club has done enough to capitalise on the team absolutely dominating the WSL the last 5 years.

 

[jojojo]

Budgetwise I guess the gap from Championship to WSL is vast seeing as some Championship clubs operate only semi-professionally so I can understand the gamble clubs would take to get promoted.

When WSL brought in its current rules - making WSL1a fulltime pro League, WSL2 a 6hr+ league - it was maybe 250k minimum to run a Championship team and maybe £500k minimum for WSL1. I'd guess you'd need to double those numbers now, but the TV money, crowds and maybe your sponsorships get a lift as well. In terms of TV exposure the team basically go from nothing to getting BBC and Sky Sports slots.

There's an interesting story playing out in the third tier as well. Newcastle are now FT and they've had a couple of 20k+ crowds at St James Park. A couple of other National League teams like Burnley have at least some players on FT contracts as well.

Even men's PL/Championship clubs who had zero interest in developing a women's team are getting a touch of FOMO as women's football gets more exposure on TV and becomes part of the marketing package that clubs offer sponsors. Some of them have even noticed that (having got as much money as possible from male fans) there's a possibility that they might pick up some new ticket and shirt buyers and the money needed to get involved wouldn't even cover a PL benchwarmer's wages.

 

[Rood]

When WSL brought in its current rules - making WSL1a fulltime pro League, WSL2 a 6hr+ league - it was maybe 250k minimum to run a Championship team and maybe £500k minimum for WSL1. I'd guess you'd need to double those numbers now, but the TV money, crowds and maybe your sponsorships get a lift as well. In terms of TV exposure the team basically go from nothing to getting BBC and Sky Sports slots.

There's an interesting story playing out in the third tier as well. Newcastle are now FT and they've had a couple of 20k+ crowds at St James Park. A couple of other National League teams like Burnley have at least some players on FT contracts as well.

Even men's PL/Championship clubs who had zero interest in developing a women's team are getting a touch of FOMO as women's football gets more exposure on TV and becomes part of the marketing package that clubs offer sponsors. Some of them have even noticed that (having got as much money as possible from male fans) there's a possibility that they might pick up some new ticket and shirt buyers and the money needed to get involved wouldn't even cover a PL benchwarmer's wages.

I guess we can expect Newcastle Women in the WSL before too long as it seems the Saudis are ready to invest in it

The teams without major men's club backing must be worried about their futures - Lewes, Durham etc

Was surprised that Lewes turned down the investment from the mysterious Mercury13 but I suppose we don't know the details:
https://mercury13.com/

 

[Rood]

Back to domestic duties after International week

Sunday lunchtime on BBC is the heavyweight Arsenal Chelsea match up, we are the late game on Sky

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[jojojo]

Villa doing what they can for us at the moment - currently beating City 0-1 at halftime.

City looking very dangerous, Villa doing a lot of defending but City not quite got their shooting boots on yet - a team with Bunny Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Chloe Kelly is always a threat. That said, Rachel Daly is very dangerous on the break and she won't always be offside if City keep leaving her free.

The Villa goal was one of those beautiful, but I bet you couldn't do it again, sort of moments.

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Not that I'd object to her doing it again in the second half.

 

[Rood]

Shame Villa couldn't hold on - they are having a poor season

Rachel Daly not managing to repeat her ridiculous scoring of last season

Not sure what result is best for us in the Arsenal Chelsea tomorrow? Draw?

 

[jojojo]

Shame Villa couldn't hold on - they are having a poor season

Rachel Daly not managing to repeat her ridiculous scoring of last season

Not sure what result is best for us in the Arsenal Chelsea tomorrow? Draw?

I'm still hopping that both of them lose, but that may be unrealistic

Arsenal currently leading 3-1 after 40 minutes, which I guess is less bad than if it was Chelsea winning.

 

[WeePat]

Awful mistake by the keeper for 2-1. Brilliant finish by Russo for 3-1. Chelsea can come back but Arsenal outplayed Chelsea in the same fixture last season too.

 

[Damien]

Lauren James has such a dirty streak. Talented as hell but should be off.

 

[awop]

That's such a soft penalty

 

[NieThePiet]

That's such a soft penalty

Deserved for the red not given, but normally these aren't given.

 

[whitbyviking]

Penalty probably given to make up for bottling the red. Referee had a clear view and she should have walked.

 

[jojojo]

Russo scores Arsenal's fourth from the penalty spot. They've been the better team, though the game has been looking more balanced this half.

That's such a soft penalty

I'd rate it as not so much soft as dumb by the keeper. Russo had already lost the ball.

 

[jojojo]

Arsenal claiming they've got 59k there. I don't buy it, it's a big crowd and they might even have sold that many tickets - but too many empty seats. Unless there really are a bunch of people standing at the back of the stands to get out of the rain.

 

[Lightbringer]

Considering United hardly will win the league, I think a draw or Chelsea win would have been best for us to amplify or chances of getting a top 3 spot for UCL.

Considering City and Arsenal are rolling like machines, if they beat Chelsea we will likely have to beat Chelsea and Arsenal + City to get into the top 3.

Pressure is definitely on for the game tonight, cant drop any more points.


And yes, James should have seen red, she is a naughty girl

 

[Lightbringer]

Arsenal claiming they've got 59k there. I don't buy it, it's a big crowd and they might even have sold that many tickets - but too many empty seats. Unless there really are a bunch of people standing at the back of the stands to get out of the rain.

How do we get to the bottom of this?

I mean the WSL cant have teams do the opposite when announcing attendance.The way Arsenal are doing it they get unfair PR for the team, while United is being honest about it and getting mocked by other fan bases for having few fans.

This 59 000 record crowd is now being pimped out worldwide, its not right! Sure its good for womens football, although I dont like falsifying stuff.

 

[WeePat]

Arsenal claiming they've got 59k there. I don't buy it, it's a big crowd and they might even have sold that many tickets - but too many empty seats. Unless there really are a bunch of people standing at the back of the stands to get out of the rain.

Arsenal have always done this. At the back end of the Wenger era as well as the year they had Emery, they regularly used to announce a full house while it was obvious to the naked eye that there were thousands of empty seats.

 

[WeePat]

Sadly, there was some racial abuse directed at her from Arsenal fans over the weekend.

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[awop]

Sadly, there was some racial abuse directed at her from Arsenal fans over the weekend.

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Disgusting idiots...

Hayes said: "She's not in a great place if I'm honest.
"Of course, every opponent tries everything possible to get Lauren red-carded. That's been clear in every game we've played and she has to learn to handle that.
“When she gets antagonised in a certain way, managing emotions comes with maturity and that isn't there yet with her.

Bit of a weird thing to say after she stamped on an opponent unprovoked for the second time in a few months.

 

[jojojo]

Bit of a weird thing to say after she stamped on an opponent unprovoked for the second time in a few months.

I think the issue is the usual one - inconsistency in terms of how players are treated. Lauren James has now picked up this label of violent or reckless and ill disciplined. Emma Hayes wants to protect her, but it's hard.

Meanwhile, in the same match there was another potential red card moment - but that one was Katie McCabe. It wasn't an unusual incident for her, she had plenty of "previous" but the reaction was different. She's generally described as aggressive, determined and a fierce competitor and when she goes too far, it's just Katie being Katie but accidentally "overstepping the line" this time.

It's a very familiar story in football and racial stereotypes often seem to play a role. It's not just about the blatant racist abuse on social media.

 

[Rood]

Women's Super League: First Panini sticker book launched
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-67709793

You've been able to swap stickers of your favourite players in the top division of the men's game for over 50 years.

Now for the first time, fans of the Women's Super League (WSL) can too.

The FA has partnered with Italian sticker company Panini for the album, which holds nearly 350 stickers...

 

[Rood]

Final matchday of the WSL this year and then winter break

North London Derby today and then MUWomen Vs Scousers Sunday lunch

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[Maestro14]

Tottenham get (I think) their first NLD win against Arsenal! 1-0 with Martha Thomas grabbing the goal.

 

[Demon Barber]

Spurs 1 - 0 Arsenal - Martha Thomas with the goal. The Spurs keeper, Votikova, had a blinder, as did the rest of the defence. Gutted for Russo haha.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

Martha Thomas has 7 goals for spurs now in the WSL. I always felt that Sinner didn’t play her enough and his obsession with starting the same players and then making subs after 70 kind of hurt her.

 

[Demon Barber]

Martha Thomas has 7 goals for spurs now in the WSL. I always felt that Sinner didn’t play her enough and his obsession with starting the same players and then making subs after 70 kind of hurt her.

It has been a good move for Martha. Spurs knew the needed a goalscorer with Beth England out, so she was always going to get game time. Interestingly both Thomas and England started today.