Millwall Lionesses are having one of their best Women’s Super League 2 seasons with the team currently sitting second on 23 points after 10 games, having won eight and drawn two.
Back in November the club received a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player against Watford Ladies in the first game of the season.
The Lionesses are challenging for top-spot in the league, which in the past would have taken them in to the top flight of women’s football in England, WSL1.
However, three days after the season began, when Millwall got off to the best possible start by beating Watford 3-1, The FA the following statement: “The FA has today announced plans which will see a restructure and new licensing criteria for the highest performance tiers of the women’s football pyramid.”
The FA set out two tiers of football that current WSL clubs and Women’s Premier League clubs can apply for. Tier One will be a full time professional environment for female footballers, and will also see 16 hours of contact time each week which will rise to 20 hours (including matches). Tier Two will remain semi-professional, and there will be at least eight hours of contact time for players each week (including matches).
A Change for the Greater Good?
Although this sounds like a good idea to improve women’s football in England, it came with a massive implication for teams playing in WSL2. Katie Brazier, The FA’s head of women’s leagues and competitions answered some key questions about the restructure including what the changes meant for the season. Her response was: “For this season only, relegation in FA WSL One and promotion and relegation in FA WSL Two will be removed.”
This means that, despite Millwall Lionesses getting off to the best possible start and carrying over their great Spring Series form, all their hard work and effort will be for nothing this season. Lionesses boss Lee Burch told South London Press that the change was a ‘kick in the teeth’, given that even if they do go on to win the league this season, they will have to spend another year in the second tier.
Financial Woes
The FA did give the option for WSL2 sides to apply to play in tier one next season, but many of the clubs’ financial situations meant they were not able to do this.
Most notably, current WSL Two leaders Doncaster Rovers Belles said that the financial criteria set out by The FA to apply for tier one football means the club applied for a tier two licence. Only one club in WSL2 applied to play in tier one next season and that was Brighton & Hove Albion.
After the 2016/17 season it was reported by ‘The Swiss Ramble’ that Millwall currently operate on a £5.1 million loss. If Millwall Lionesses were to apply for tier one football it could have seen the club’s losses rise, and as history shows if a club runs on a high loss they may take the decision to dissolve the women’s team. Ultimately, it wasn’t an option.
Back in April, one day before the WSL One Spring Series was due to start, women’s football lost one of the greatest teams, Notts County Ladies. A statement from the club read: “Alan Hardy has reluctantly admitted defeat in his bid to save Notts County Ladies Football Club after facing a near-£1m bill to keep the club afloat this season.”
Another Season
With women’s football teams being so expensive to run, it seems that the only women’s teams who can stay afloat in the top tier, are the ones with men’s teams in the Premier League. Most notably Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool all achieve most in women’s football, due to their strong backing from the men’s side of the clubs.
With Brighton & Hove Albion now in the Premier League, it has allowed the club to invest more in the women’s team which has seen them move in to the top tier for next season.
So, what does this mean for Millwall and Millwall Lionesses? With Millwall now looking to become a stable Championship side they may soon look towards promotion to the Premier League, and with promotion to the Premier League comes a big influx of financial reward.
However, with Millwall Lionesses also doing incredibly well, they may not need to rely on this and could potentially see themselves promoted to the top tier of women’s football next season, when promotion is back on the table for tier two women’s sides.
