Premier League club slammed as women's team discover promotion bid was NOT submitted
Wolves women finished second in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division behind Nottingham Forest but were left "devastated" after discovering the club never submitted their bid to play in the Championship
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been slammed by players from their women's team after failing to submit a bid for them to play in the Championship next season. After finishing second in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division with 55 points, Wolves Women missed out on promotion as Nottingham Forest pipped them to it by three points.
But Wolves never would have been promoted - even if they finished higher than Forest - because the club never lodged their bid to play in the second tier in the first place, according to player Beth Merrick.
Only one team is promoted to the Women's Championship from the third tier but midfielder Merrick said she and the rest of her team-mates have been left "absolutely devastated" to discover that their efforts were in vain regardless and questioned the club's ambitions for the women's side.
Wolves still had a chance of winning the division ahead of their clash against Liverpool Feds - which they won 6-0 - but Forest kept their place at the top by beating West Brom 7-2 and Merrick claims players were informed about the decision shortly after their game.
"Going into today's final game still in contention of winning the league and having to write this is crazy," she wrote in a statement on Twitter. "Imagine fighting for promotion all season to find out our championship bid was never submitted.
"As a group we are absolutely devastated to finish the season this way and believe it speaks volumes about the club's ambitions for the women's team. For our staff to have to deliver this news to us moments after is astonishing.
"Some of us have been a part of this club for many years with endless amount of success, which has grown year on year through all the highs and the lows. Our players, our staff and fans deserve so much better.
The staff have put in hours of dedication for a bid to never be submitted. The gravitas that we have collectively worked hard to create, has supported women's football growth and the movement of 'If you can see it, you can be it' throughout Wolverhampton.
"It's not about the money, it's about the honesty and transparency - ironically not very apparent with the #OnePack campaign."
Merrick was backed up by team-mate Lily Simkin, who said the team feel "let down" and that the playing group "deserve better".
According to the Express and Star, Wolves could not commit to the cost of the application and feared the men's team could be relegated this season - which would have limited their spending power. The men's side were as low as 17th and two points off the bottom three in early February, only to surge to safety with a run of six consecutive Premier League victories.
It goes on to say that Wolves have submitted the application to play in the Women's Championship in previous years but chose not to this season, despite the team competing at the top with Forest.
Fans were not impressed by Merrick's revelation as one said: "Absolutely horrific And not a surprise Our leadership at Wolves doesn't care about the women's game. It's just a nice to have for them. Sorry you're all treated like this."
Another added: "Completely fuming at this. Absolute solidarity with you and the girls, as well as @MaccaD11 and the staff. You made me and many, many others fans proud with how you pushed through the whole season."
Mirror Football has reached out to Wolverhampton Wanderers for comment in response to Merrick's claims.
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