In July, WSL Football took over management of the top two tiers of English football's pyramid, with the stated intention of making both divisions fully professional. It is somewhat disconcerting that the first announcement following that announcement, was Blackburn Rovers (who narrowly escaped relegation from the second division Championship on sporting merit alone) self-demoting to the semi-professional FA Women's National League. The FA then intervened and the club, who have bounced around but rarely played in Blackburn itself, were then placed a step lower - in the WNL Division 1 North since FA regulations state that any club that withdraws from a league can only re-enter the pyramid at least two tiers below that from which they have withdrawn. In their official statement addressing the withdrawal, Rovers said:
Key factors influencing this decision include the significant rise in minimum criteria set by the league, including extended contact hours for players and the requirement for a full-time professional contract model, an increase in staffing levels, leading to further escalating wage costs, and a greater strain on training ground and stadium facilities.
The BBC have noted that the majority of the players are not members of the players union, the Professional Footballers Association.
Back in the professional ranks, the new salary floor for WSL is:
Aged 23 and over: £42,500 a year
Aged between 21 and 22: £34,700.
Aged between 18 and 20: £26,900.
In WSL2, players aged 23 and over: £26,900.
Aged between 21 and 22: £22,200.
Aged between 18 and 20: £17,500.
The rules take over from a set that was introduced in 2020-21. Charlton Athletic (who are a storied club with their origins in Millwall Lionesses' first mutiny) and Birmingham City (who have Tom Brady as an investor and England legend Hope Powell as Director Of Football) are currently in the two spots which will automatically see promotion to WSL when the league expands to 14 clubs next season. The last spot in the expanded upper tier will go to the winner of a promotion/relegation playoff (a concept I'm more familiar with in Germany) between the bottom club in tier 1 (currently Leicester City) and the third-placed team in WSL2 (currently Crystal Palace). For what it's worth, Portsmouth are currently bottom of the professional pile, although the relegation spots in both divisions are tight.
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