A poor relation of the Women’s Super League is how one source described the Women’s Championship to Mail Sport last month.
A new season begins this weekend and while there is excitement around what has become one of the most competitive leagues in the country, several clubs have found themselves navigating financial pressures.
The first obvious problem can be identified by looking at the table itself. Instead of the usual 12 clubs, only 11 will take part this season.
Reading withdrew from the second tier in June due to financial pressures across the club. It was deemed too late to promote another team. Reading’s demotion means Blackburn will not have a fixture on the opening weekend.
Blackburn themselves have had financial problems, with Mail Sport revealing in July that players will operate on 16-hour contracts and be paid just £9,000 a year this season.
The new Women’s Championship season gets underway this weekend amidst the backdrop of financial pressures
Mail Sport revealed in July that Blackburn’s women’s players will operate on 16-hour contracts and be paid just £9,000 a year this season
While the WSL continues to thrive, with clubs having so far spent £1.78million on transfers this summer, many in the second tier are struggling
While the WSL continues to thrive, with clubs having so far spent £1.78million on transfers this summer, many in the second tier are struggling.
Bristol City, who were relegated from the WSL last season, have had to sell a number of players before they can buy. They are also set to start the season without a manager after Lauren Smith left the club earlier this month. Other clubs are also understood to have had their budgets cut.
A range of sources have spoken to Mail Sport under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. ‘We all want the same thing, we really want a positive women’s football landscape that is thriving,’ one source said.
‘But I think the reality right now in the Championship isn’t that, it’s just not. I think we have to be realistic around that.’
Days before Mail Sport reported on Blackburn’s financial issues, a source close to a Championship club had explained how most players in the second tier earn less than £20,000 a year.
‘Some of the salaries players are on at some clubs, I don’t know how they live.
‘There have been conversations around bringing in a wage floor because there’s still quite a variance in what players are paid across the divisions, but I’ve not heard anything more on that.
‘There’s an image of the game the FA and NewCo want to present and then there’s the reality of the game, particularly in the Championship.’
NewCo refers to the new company – which will temporarily be called Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd (WPLL) – that has taken over the running of the top two leagues from the Football Association.
The WPLL is led by former Nike director Nikki Doucet, who has appointed an all-female executive board. The Premier League has also given the WPLL a £20million interest-free loan.
Clubs in the WSL and Championship reached an agreement over the new structure, which sees top tier clubs receive 75% of the combined revenues from the two divisions. They will also have all the voting on commercial and broadcast matters.
Eleven of last season’s 12 Championship clubs originally rejected the proposals, but later voted in favour after being told WSL sides may go it alone. There is clearly still some distrust among those in the second tier.
‘Everything feels weighted towards the WSL, which is fine, because that’s what brings in the commercial revenue,’ a source tells Mail Sport.
‘But there’s a lot of decisions being made or discussions being had where the Championship almost feels like collateral damage.’
While the Championship receives 25% of broadcast revenue and central sponsorship, their games are not shown live on TV.
The BBC and Sky Sports own the broadcast rights for WSL matches after they signed a one-year extension to their previous deal. The domestic TV rights had gone out to tender last winter, with multiple broadcasters having shown interest, but the WSL were unable to reach a long-term agreement – so opted to extend their previous contract to give themselves more time.
Bristol City are set to start the season without a manager after Lauren Smith (pictured) left the club earlier this month
Crystal Palace have been promoted to the WSL after winning the Championship last season
It is understood Championship clubs had hoped that a new, more lucrative broadcast deal would have involved them in some way, with one source saying the impact on the second tier had not been fully considered.
‘We all had to work so hard to be “broadcast ready” without ever being broadcast on Sky or the BBC – not even the final games to decide promotion.
‘That simply makes it harder and harder for clubs to keep up.’
Another issue is prize money. The FA does not disclose prize money, but Mail Sport has been told each Championship club received £127,000 at the start of last season. It is understood the winners, Crystal Palace, received around £70,000.
In 2019, the prize money for the WSL champions was increased to £500,000.
The FA are understood to have an ambitious long-term plan for the women’s game. In addition to prize funds and equal share payments, grants have been offered to Championship clubs for the last three years to support their growth, which will continue this season, and discussions are taking place for ways to further support clubs in the future.
‘If we want the Championship to be full-time, we need to treat them like WSL clubs,’ a source close to a WSL side said.
Newcastle are one of the clubs tipped to challenge for promotion in the Championship this season
Newcastle won the National League Division One North title last season and will play in the Championship
‘There’s some unbelievable clubs in the Championship and they’re pumping money in but they also need a little bit of help, because WSL teams didn’t get there without that help.
‘We need to increase the number of teams in the WSL – if there’s ever a moment to do that, it’s now. Or they need to help Championship teams close the gap, not make that gap bigger.’
While FA Cup prize money has increased consistently over the last few years, there has been little increase in the amount clubs receive for competing in the League Cup.
Continental Tyres sponsored this competition for 13 years but a new sponsor, which is yet to be revealed, will take over for the upcoming campaign.
The League Cup consists of a group stage made up of Championship and WSL clubs. Matches that end in a draw in 90 minutes go to a penalty shoot-out, with the winners earning an extra point. Eight clubs then progress to the quarter-finals, which are straight knockout matches. Any WSL clubs that reach the group stage of the Champions League do not enter until the knockout stage.
Mail Sport understands the total prize pot for last season’s League Cup was around £200,000, with the winners earning £38,000.
It is also understood clubs earned just under £2,000 for every victory in the group stage and just under £1,000 for winning a game on penalties.
To put it bluntly, for most clubs it would cost more to reach the final than what they would receive for winning the competition.
‘It is crazy because you’re asking “do you want to compete for trophies?” and the answer is “of course,” but it’s a detriment to budget life and that is the reality.
‘So something needs to change on that. The funding needs to be far greater because if you want everyone to take it seriously then the money has to improve.’
The groups are drawn based on location so there can often be all Championship or all WSL groups. For example, this season’s draw saw Durham, Sheffield United, Sunderland and Blackburn all placed in the same group.
While this may make progression to the knockouts more likely, Championship clubs would undoubtedly sell more tickets for games against WSL opponents.
Championship sides are being asked to invest more money, with Mail Sport told that an overall budget of £2m has been suggested.
The problem for clubs is that owners know they are not likely to make a return on that investment for at least a number of years. Ticket sales across the Championship are still far below the WSL and for those that play at bigger stadiums, it can often cost them more to open the grounds than what they make in matchday revenue.
Mail Sport understands the total prize pot for last season’s League Cup was around £200,000, with the winners earning £38,000
Some owners are happy to invest in their women’s teams despite knowing they will not make a return straight away
One source close to a Championship club explains: ‘Women’s football weekend last season was the first weekend where every fixture in the Championship had over 1,000 people attend.
‘So when you’re looking at overall revenue and ticketing revenue, you’re never making £2m. It does create a very clear picture of where the league is at.
‘I think the Championship causes a lot of people to scratch their heads and they’re not sure where it’s going to get to. We talk about closing the gap to the WSL which, in an ideal world, we would be doing. But if the audience isn’t there right now, I think we’re stuck in a really difficult situation.
‘There’s no incentive to being generative, creating cash, creating loyal fans. All the incentives are about finding somebody to stump you – whether a men’s club or an investor.’
Some owners are happy to invest in their women’s teams despite knowing they will not make a return straight away. London City Lionesses are owned by Michelle Kang, who also owns Lyon and Washington Spirit.
London City Lionesses are owned by Michele Kang (left), who also owns Lyon and Washington Spirit
One source close to a Championship club explains: ‘Women’s football weekend last season was the first weekend where every fixture in the Championship had over 1,000 people attend.’
Championship clubs have previously had to submit their salary cap figures twice a year
Kang is understood to have invested huge sums this summer, with the club having brought in a number of high-profile internationals including Sweden’s Kosovare Asllani. They are also understood to be paying wages that are competitive with top end WSL clubs.
The WSL has a soft salary cap which allows top-flight clubs to spend 40% of their turnover on wages, but these totals can be influenced and merged with the budgets of their male counterparts.
It is understood the same rule applies in the Championship and that clubs have previously had to submit their salary cap figures twice a year. Cost controls was understood to have been a key part of the original NewCo agreement but one source told Mail Sport that it is still a grey area.
Many expect Newcastle, who were promoted to the Championship last season, to compete for promotion this term. The club has not spent extravagantly, though they have brought in experienced players like Demi Stokes and Rachel Furness. It also remains to be seen what impact Amanda Staveley’s departure will have on the women’s team, given she was a big supporter of Becky Langley’s side.
Clubs rely on owners wanting to invest, either because they are passionate and care about the game, think it’s the right thing to do or, in some cases, perceive it to be a positive PR move.
Being connected to a Premier League or men’s Championship side comes with obvious advantages, but there can also be pitfalls in that, when they are struggling, it will have a knock-on effect to the women’s side – as Readings plummet down the leagues has shown.
‘A lot of owners and managing directors are looking at it through a commercial lens,’ one source says. ‘They’re investing but there will be a ceiling on that investment until the return justifies it.’
Another source added: ‘Unfortunately, if you don’t have Premier League money, there’s not a lot of spare cash to be found – unless your owner really wants to invest.
‘For now, I think the levels of investment that is supposedly required, I think that’s Premier League money.’
Mail Sport has been made aware of players in the Championship and further down the pyramid retiring early or leaving the game due to their mental health. Championship players are not represented by the Professional Footballers Association and Mail Sport understands there is no movement on this issue.
Any player who has played in the WSL is entitled to PFA access, but there are many full-time professionals in the Championship who are not able to use their services.
Being tied to a Premier League men’s side such as Man United brings better financial rewards
It also remains to be seen what impact Amanda Staveley’s (pictured) departure will have on Newcastle’s women’s team
The PFA want the FA to fund comprehensive and formalised union representation for WSL and Championship players. The PFA currently uses funding from its main pot to help represent top tier players because it does not receive ring-fenced funding for female players from the FA. There are instances when the PFA has stepped in following FA referrals on non-member players.
‘They’re on professional contracts, they should be looked after by the PFA,’ a source says. ‘They’re committing the same time, the same energy. It’s bizarre that they are not.
‘The game is growing at such a relentless rate, these players are human beings and the problem is, the further the game gets, the more these players become numbers and we can’t allow that. The new company has to make sure it’s an absolute priority that the psychology and mental health side is a given in the licence.’
The Championship has provided great drama and excitement on the pitch in recent years and there is clearly great potential for growth. But it is clear that clubs will need greater support and incentives for investment if they are to ever reduce the gap between themselves and the WSL.
