November 29 – Hailed as the start of a new era, the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship – the top two tiers of the game in the UK – have agreed to take over the running of the professional football in England from the 2024-25 season.
Breaking away from the English Football Association, former Nike director Nikki Doucet will be CEO of the so-called NewCo that will run operations, and will start with a £15 million loan from the FA.
All 24 clubs involved in the two divisions voted in favour of NewCo’s takeover.
“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,” Doucet said.
The WSL has been managed by the FA since its inception in 2010 and the Championship since 2014, but plans were announced last year for an independent entity to take over the commercial activities of the women’s game and give clubs greater control of their future.
“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,” said Sue Campbell, director of women’s soccer at the Football Association. “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 Women’s Super League and Women’s 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.”
Campbell added it is a “historical moment for the women’s professional game in this country.”
“It is a move that will see our clubs and players make even bigger strides both on and off the pitch.”
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