As clubs start submitting their bids to be a part of FAWSL 2 (deadline is Mon, 4th March), one club will definitely not be amongst them…
Much to the disappointment of players and fans alike, it has emerged that Blackburn Rovers will definitely not be a part of the WSL when it expands to two divisions from 2014.
Blackburn shot through the divisions with great ambition during the early 2000s, have been a strong contender in the FA Women’s Premier League ever since and have a lively Centre of Excellence programme. The girls/women’s set up has generally been an accepted/if not integral, part of the club. However, when the bidding process came around for the launch of the FA WSL, they announced that they did not want to detach the women’s section from the main club, to create a ‘seperate’ organisation which is one of the stipulations of FAWSL member clubs. And it seems, on the surface at least, that this is again the view from inside the club.
Gemma Donnelly, Blackburn Rovers’ Women & Girls Development Officer/Centre of Excellence Manager/BRLFC Secretary was keen to stress this decision was not down to the club’s financial support (or lack thereof).
She explained: “The ladies section are hugely disappointed but respect the decision of the club and will continue to work to drive the Centre of excellence and ladies teams forward.
“Blackburn Rovers have had contact with the FA, whilst understanding and appreciative of the Club’s position with regard to the cumbersome administration created by their criteria for WSL, has confirmed The FA’s position regarding the need for the Ladies to be set up as a separate entity. With regret, the Board’s decision not to proceed with an application for WSL2 is therefore reiterated.
“We are disappointed in the outcome of our various discussions with The FA, as we have yet to be satisfied that embarking on this process would be of benefit to the operation of the Ladies team, or that it has successfully operated in a wholly ‘separate’ fashion in practice with existing WSL clubs.
“Therefore, to confirm Blackburn Rovers FC will not be submitting an application for entry into the Women’s super League for 2014. Blackburn Rovers will continue to operate a ladies team. In terms of the Centre of excellence, the club have pledged their continued support towards this.”
Blackburn have 10 games left in their Premier League season and are still in the Premier League Cup. Will talented/ambitious players stay, knowing that their FAWSL dream will not happen with the club they currently, and proudly, play for?
We will know more about which other clubs decided not to submit a bit when Monday comes around and it remains to be confirmed what the fate of these teams and the structure of the Premier League/Combinations will look like when the second tier of the FAWSL comes around. It’s an era of change for the women’s game and in the long term it should be of great benefit to elite women’s football in England (could we even see a Scottish team or two enter?). What seems a shame is that Lancashire, a county with such a rich and pioneering history in the women’s and men’s game, a hotbed of football, may never be represented in the top flight, in this new era.
QPR are another club that have openly stated that they will not be submitting a bid.
What do you think?
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