An open letter to Birmingham City FC: "This is not a goodbye, this is a rallying cry"

This team has an incredible history, 52 years of history to be precise. Founding members of the WSL, FA Cup champions, Champions League semi finalists and being the best club in the league second to Arsenal for many seasons in a row. So many legends have made their way through the club, from Rachel Yankey and Alex Scott to Andrine Hegerberg and Kaz Carney to the now departing Kerys Harrop and Rachel Williams. Even last season they were able to show face against the big three, coming fourth in the league and hosting a team with many international players. But of that first starting 11 at the beginning of the 2018/19 season, now none remain.

Due to the monopoly of those top three teams, due to the Blues not being able to offer the resources and salaries other teams could (they're the only club this season without a men's team in the Premier League), due to poor managerial handling and a sense of indifference from backroom staff, and due to so many more factors that we have not been made aware of the team is crumbling and it seems like nothing is being done to prevent this.

The team was forced to be furloughed, so many players have left already including the captain and those that were keeping the team together last year, managerial changes have occurred etc and yet no statement has been published, no words of encouragement or words despair have been released by the club. The uncertainty of this clubs future is palpable and yet no one is taking any measures about it.

This club has 52 years of history and my history with this club only extends for those last 365 days. But they've meant a lot to me, the players, the love for the club, the tight knit atmosphere at games, the dedication and time players had for fans after the games, all their interviews, their Christmas advent calendar series. It felt like a home. The thought that all of this may now disappear, if not this year then next, is a horrible one. To be so in the dark is blinding and I cant even imagine what it's like for the players right now. 52 years of history should not be able to be dismantled in just a few months. And yet here we are, on the edge of the precipice, not knowing whether the next step will be the final one forward or a relieved step back.

Be silent and we shall raise our voices, give in and we shall continue the fight, face relegation and we shall continue to follow close behind. This is our club too, our history and the history of women's football. This is not a goodbye, this is a rallying cry.

Players of the new century: the top 7 women's football stars to watch out for in Europe born after 2000

With last season's Women's Champions League finally over and this season's tournament set to begin, it is the moment to cast our eyes towards the present and future of what we can expect to see on this world stage. The visibility and prestige of women's football in Europe is on the rise, and there's seven players in particular who will be experiencing a rise of similarly great calibre as the game as a whole. this year's All born in the new century, they have each one of them have left their mark on the pitch and in the media already, but their ages show that their careers and ability have only just begun. Lena Oberdorf (18) : Could this list even be considered credible without including this player of the future who to many is already a star of the present? At the World Cup what caught most people’s eye initially was her age and the fact that she was taking her final school exams at the same time. Now, one year later, she has just played in her first C

Why the next Lionesses manager should be a woman

The FA Player recently streamed the World Cup Qualifier match against Kazakhstan whilst we are all at home waiting for a time when live football can resume. This match’s squad was led by the interim head coach Mo Marley, during another time of uncertainty and chaos after Mark Sampson’s sacking. This took place over allegations of safeguarding issues when he was at Bristol City as well as during the aftermath of Eni Aluko’s official complaint against him for racism and bullying. Throughout the match, the commentary could have been easily mistaken for one happening in the current situation (if matches were still being played). There were numerous discussions about who the new head coach appointment should be, and which factors should be the ones mostly taken into consideration during the selection process. What was mentioned time and time again was the fact that the candidate ultimately chosen should not be necessarily a woman, it should be the best person for the job. And then

Women’s Football & The LGBTQ+ Community: four pillars of openness and future threats

Women’s football, both players and supporters, have created a unique atmosphere of acceptance and inclusion of the LGBT community over the past years. Where not too long ago the still looming shadow cast by the Section 28 UK anti-gay law was a reality, when even recently people believed the best way to grow the women’s game was to distance itself as much as possible from stereotypes including being open about sexuality, and where a decade ago there were no openly out players in the English national team, there now exists a close and co-beneficial relationship between women’s football and the LGBTQ+ community. There are four main pillars of openness that have contributed to the game growing parallel to a growth in openly out players and an LGBTQ+ fanbase: abundance, normalcy, visibility and acceptance. Abundance. There is always more safety in numbers, and this is no exception. The sheer volume of players that are open about being queer or in relationships with other women help

When life gives you Covid-19… make lemonade? A positive report on how women's football can continue to make an impact

In the most recent FIFPRO report about the present and future state of women's football, the research claimed that “women’s football presents in relative terms the biggest possibilities for the football industry in the years to come.” However, with the setbacks already being presented due to the current pandemic (classified in some circles as “existential threats) as well as a general reluctance from many clubs and businesses to take an active role in promoting the women's game, there is an underlying fear that this will only amount to unresolved potential. Despite this, there are a number of ways in which this period can be used to turn the bleak picture on its head and use the time to reflect, focus and improve on the main paths that can be taken to grow the game in a during and post coronavirus world. A prime example of such initiatives being put into action is through the self-reflection and feedback taken on by the FA Player. A survey was released to all subscribers

Bundesliga or Primera Iberdrola or neither? What the WSL should do next.

A few months ago the situation we are currently in would have been unfathomable: the NHS coming under a strain of a magnitude never before see, workers earning minimum pay risking their lives daily, people not coming into physical contact with others for weeks on end whilst others put lives at risk by merely having a picnic at the park. On the peripheries of the crisis we are now in the midst of stands football, and even further in the outer rim (in the eyes of national and international football organisations) is the question of women’s football. Many other countries, Spain and Germany as the notable two, have already come to verdicts about the outcomes of the 2019/20 season for the top flight of women’s football. The FA however, is yet to make a decision about the fate of the WSL and Championship, along with the men’s professional tiers. Spain and Germany have taken two completely different paths in how to wrap up the season. Spain has decided to finish the season as it is,

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