The Twleve Yards

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 be...

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...

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,...