After the sad news last Friday that Notts County Ladies were no more certain questions have been raised about the sustainability of the league. Of course, the news surrounding Notts County Ladies comes in the same off-season which saw Sunderland (another WSL 1 team) announce that they were going to part-time status after a couple of years being professional. Being professional is all well and good as you can attract better players which means more chance of winning trophies, however it soon becomes apparent that not every club can sustain that as certain clubs linked to wealthy men’s Premier League teams are able to throw money at it without a care in the world. The money element is partly linked into the gastronomical amounts of money they receive through the English Premier League deal, which of course you do not see a sniff off if the men’s team the women’s club is linked to does not play in the top flight. This then means that teams have to budget specifically for women’s teams and as seen with Notts County Ladies the figures simply don’t add up. The quoted figures suggest that in order for the team to play the following season it would have cost £500,000 with only £28,000 generated in revenue from sponsors. This outlines the major flaws in WSL and suggests that unless you are the likes of Manchester City or Arsenal where £1 million can be given away without noticing it in the yearly balance sheet, you will not be able to compete and ultimately struggle. The FAWSL competition started off with much potential especially after the world took note of Great Britain’s performance at the London Olympics in 2012. At the time the competition was new, fresh and had a USP of summer seasons as opposed to the regular winter seasons in an attempt to increase attendances which it achieved in my opinion. In the final season (2016) as a summer league a number of teams averaged over 1,000 supporters per match including Notts County, while Manchester City pulled in over 2,000 on some occasions (although this could be attributed to their constant success). Switching to a winter season like leagues in France and Germany is logical as it gets teams in sync for the Champions League competition and it is suggested that as a result they will do better, only time will tell on that front. Furthermore, the switch makes sense as the league has grown, but with games stretched out and possible more time between games will we see other teams go the same way as Notts County Ladies or possible follow Sunderland’s lead and go part time? This brings me on to other European League which have gone through similar struggles. For example, the Dutch women’s top flight league, or the Eredivisie Vrouwen to give its official name has gone through certain changes in order to make itself more sustainable since forming 10 years ago. the Eredivisie Vrouwen which is in its third reincarnation with its first spell ending in 2012 before a three-year spell as a joint league with Belgium to 2015 and its current spell as solely a Dutch league of 7, 8 and soon 9 teams. Originally the league started with six teams, with only half of them still existing today, the league is currently up to 8 teams with an introduction of a 9th being introduced for the 2017/18 season, thus showing a gradual expansion. On the face of it you may think, “isn’t this similar to what FAWSL are doing?” Well, yes in a way, but the Eredivisie seems to strategically approve teams on a regional basis as opposed to just adding teams with the most money. For example, when a Dutch club folds in the Eredivisie another club from the same region or close by replaces them. Arguably the most successful team in the 10-year period was AZ Alkmaar, but when they decided to discontinue their women’s section, Telstar formed theirs. Same happened when Utrecht stopped theirs with Ajax forming theirs, likewise when Willem II folded, PSV began theirs. By taking this approach teams stay in the same region, thus giving local girls specifically access to a team to support, watch and be inspired. Personally, when FAWSL was launched the FA and those in charge of the competition should’ve looked into having regional team franchises as opposed to be club affiliate sides. This would have made a lot more sense as teams would not be reliant on their male counterparts to provide the cash as well as creating a broader supporter base whereby fans of men’s teams were not put off by going to watch their female rivals. I’m not saying they should’ve scrapped the likes of Arsenal and Doncaster Belles, but just not have them at the top level where the elite players can join, instead using them as more of a feeder club. I’m also not saying that owners of men’s clubs shouldn’t have got involved with women’s football, but instead of pumping money into the women’s affiliated team, pump the money into a regional franchise instead. To me this was the main reason FAWSL was created, in order to provide girls an opportunity to join a club near them and be inspired by the current stars as well as giving the players a living. However, if the current model does not make drastic changes I fear that in 10 years’ time you will only be left with clubs based London and the North West thus cutting off the access to many girls who aspire to be footballers.
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