Glitzy rebrand cannot mask grim reality in women's second tier

Telegraph

13-05-2025

There was a sense of Groundhog Day when Blackburn Rovers player Niamh Murphy shared on social media that the club's owners are not likely to support the women's team financially next season.
A little under a year ago, Reading withdrew their women's team from the second tier because of financial pressures on the men's side. A final decision on Blackburn's position is yet to be made, but the club are understood to have until the start of next week to commit to financing the women's team.
While Blackburn are yet to comment on the situation, the statement posted by Murphy and other Blackburn players said: 'Today we were made aware that there is a 99 per cent chance that the club's owners won't be financially supporting the team next season. The club have been given a seven-day deadline to state their intention to financially support the team and if this isn't signed then the club will be forced to drop out [of] the Championship/WSL2.'
Blackburn, who helped produce England players Keira Walsh, Georgia Stanway and Ella Toone, have had on-going problems for some time. They are understood to have started pre-season for the 2024-25 campaign with a budget of just £100,000, while players were told they would be operating on 16-hour contracts worth just £9,000 a year.
It was clear this was not going to be sustainable and would not conform to the new licensing requirements, which are understood to include a salary floor, as Telegraph Sport outlined in March.
Across the pyramid, there is little surprise at Blackburn's plight. But for it to come 24 hours after a glitzy rebrand of the top two tiers only emphasises the issues in the women's game.
On Monday, the Women's Professional Leagues Limited – the company in charge of the top two divisions – announced it will now be called Women's Super League Football (WSL Football). As part of the rebrand, the Championship will be called Women's Super League 2 (WSL2).
All of the above and the new logo – or 'visual identity' as it was described – was revealed in a one-minute promotional video on social media. It would be an understatement to say the reaction of fans was underwhelming.
We're not just a league. We're a movement.
This is the new era of Women's Super League Football. #BarclaysWSL #BarclaysWSL2 pic.twitter.com/wYnUSqKkgl
— Barclays WSL 2 (@BarclaysWSL2) May 12, 2025
Whether you like or despise the font or find the 'pitch please' and 'I kick balls for a living' stickers used in the promotional video cringe-worthy, the rebrand is essentially a distraction.
The grim reality is that the second tier of women's football has far greater problems than whether it is called the Championship or WSL2.
Clubs are repeatedly being asked to invest more money without assurances over a future return. Participation money in the second tier is not increasing for next season. The League Cup, now sponsored by Subway, will be worth more than in previous campaigns but several clubs have told Telegraph Sport that they are unlikely to see any real benefit.
Owners need incentive to invest
Club owners should rightly be at the centre of discussions when it comes to investment in women's football. Former Blackburn players have regularly spoken on social media about a lack of resources and it is clear they have repeatedly been let down. Elsewhere, Wolves were the subject of criticism for failing to apply for a WSL2 licence despite the club having gone into the final day of the season with a chance of promotion. Too often, players are not protected and there is perhaps a wider question around whether there needs to be a fit-and-proper test for those who own women's football clubs.
Aside from that, owners need to be given an incentive to invest, especially those not connected to huge Premier League clubs. The league will point to the fact that London City Lionesses were promoted to the WSL following a huge investment from their owner Michele Kang, who also owns American side Washington Spirit and French club Lyon. But not every club in the second tier can compete with the millions Kang invested and it is unreasonable to expect them to when women's football is still early into its professional era.
It will be an extremely poor look if Blackburn follow in Reading's footsteps by withdrawing from the league. Many have feared this was coming, and the club and the league should have made a decision by now. The consequences do not just affect Blackburn, with relegated Sheffield United waiting to hear whether they will be given a reprieve. The club have been planning for tier-three football and need to know sooner rather than later which division they will be playing in or they will be at a disadvantage.
In her statement on social media, Blackburn player Murphy said: 'I have been a @RoversWFC player for three seasons and the only consistency there has been is the lack of financial support from the club. We deserve better.'
The stark reality of that statement might not fit with the flashy, ultra-positive messaging in the WSL's rebrand, but it should focus the minds of everyone working in women's football.