Watford have announced that they will make an application to The Football Association for election of their senior team into the regional FA Women’s Premier League structure for next season.
In a statement on their website, the club said:
Watford FC will be seeking to re-energise a more community-focused approach to its ladies’ football offering at all ages, once its FA Women’s Super League licence expires at the end of the current 2017/18 campaign.
Over recent months, the Hornets have carefully considered all available options with regards to how it shapes a fully sustainable future provision of ladies football.
The club will continue to fund all aspects of the operational infrastructure at existing levels and is pleased to have already begun the research and planning phase.
This involves creating a clear pathway towards adult football provision, which will include an offering for 16-18 year-old players who are currently all-too-often lost to the sport through lack of realistic opportunities in the senior game.
Watford FC will continue to work closely with its Community Sports & Education Trust to ensure all possible routes into football for enthusiastic local players are both maintained and enhanced.
WSL 1 clubs have until 10th November to submit their applications for the new fourteen team full-time professional top flight, with the FA to review these in December, ahead of opening it out to other clubs.
Looks like we have the 1st victim of FA WSL restructuring plans before the applications are even in. It is a no brained that clubs will look at the cost of playing Tier 1 and if decide they could or would never run a full-time professional side, they will look at increased costs of Tier 2 next season and decide if they cannot afford Tier 1 there’s no point in competing in Tier 2.
If the FA don’t take this as a massive warning of what’s to come and postoperative plans then we may as well give up ?