How the FAWNL vs World Cup clash played out
There was conroversy last week after the FAWNL refused to postpone its opening league games which clashed with England's first ever Women's World Cup final, with mixed results for clubs involved...
As excitement built towards a historic Sunday lunchtime in England as the Lionesses booked their spot in a World Cup final for the first time against Spain, a discontent was building in the lower echelons of the English game.
The showpiece final, watched by millions around the country and beaten only in the annual ratings by the coronation of King Charles III, would clash with the opening day of the FA Women’s National League, which covers Tiers 3 and 4 of the women’s game below the Barclays Women’s Super League and Championship respectively.
It was, on the face of it, a bizarre decision, but one which was made two months in advance, as became clear when the discontent grew to such a point the league itself was forced to put quite a punchy statement, claiming all the clubs had voted for the start date of 20th August, and had been given a cut-off point to postpone their games to midweek slots if they wished.
But by the time England beat co-hosts Australia on the Wednesday, there was less than four days until the opening kick-offs, leaving little wiggle room for changes.
A move to midweek is not easy for players in Tier 3 and 4, a large majority of whom work outside of football, and despite every league being regional, there are still lengthy trips, such as the journey Ipswich Town had to make across to Cardiff City.
Everyone had their own view, their own priorities and their own agendas. Many of the home clubs saw an opportunity to delay their games a few hours, put the game on for paying customers in the stadium bars, while away teams who were travelling were a lot more vocal about the fact they wouldn’t have the luxury of sitting down to watch what was a historic occasion for everyone involved in the women’s game in England.
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The league refuted the idea of a blanket postponement, but some clubs stood firm. Halifax FC were the first to state they would not play despite newly-promoted Newcastle United claiming they had offered space for opposition players to watch the game, but to get from Halifax to Newcastle for an 11am kick-off would have meant a very early start.
Southampton FC also took a stand and referenced Halifax FC’s decision in their own statement. They were due to host Moneyfields FC, but due to scheduling clashes they couldn’t delay the game at their home ground.
“The heartbeat of women’s football deserves to watch and fully experience the day on Sunday regardless of the result. Our difficult decision has been confirmed with our opponents and to the league so we will now wait to hear what will happen next.”
That’s how Southampton’s statement read, and games between Boldmere St Michaels and Solihull Moors, Worthing and AFC Wimledon and Cambridge United vs Cambridge City all also fell by the wayside, while most games in Tier 3 were delayed to either 3pm or 4pm.
Elsewhere, there were divides. Barnsley rejected Chorley FC’s request for a postponement, while Middlesbrough did the same to Norton. In fact, the two clubs ended up in conversation on X stating they couldn’t afford the fine which would have come with rejecting the chance to play if a postponement couldn’t be agreed between both clubs.
In the end, Chorley travelled across the Pennines early to watch the game in a pub close to Barnsley’s home stadium Olympic Legacy Park on the outskirts of Sheffield.
It was an unedifying start to a season for a league where its community is at the heart of what it does. Many clubs are independent, many aren’t bankrolled and do not have luxury budgets, and players themselves took to social media to air their views, with some vehemently against the 20th August start date, while others defended the choice.
Former England youth team player Ashleigh Goddard, now of AFC Wimbledon, called on the FA to step in, while Maidenhead United’s Vicky Carvill stated she had to make a choice between playing and watching a historic moment for the sport and the next generation of young girls with her eight-year-old daughter.
Hull City’s Hope Knight expressed disappointment in the “lack of ownership” for the situation, with players from different clubs all in conversation across social media expressing their various views.
Some looked at it the other way. Amber Lawrence of newly-promoted Stourbridge who were making the short trip to Nottingham Forest stated she was happy to “gather round the back of the bus” with her teammates to watch the game, while Exeter City’s goalkeeper coach stated “we know what we’ve signed up for.”
And that was the crux of the issue. Whether clubs had a lack of faith in England reaching the final or not, they all agreed to a 20th August start date.
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At Huddersfield Town vs AFC Fylde, the hosts were one of many clubs to take advantage of the developments. The bar at the club’s picturesque Stafflex Arena was open for business from 9am, with young boys and girls playing grassroots games on the surrounding pitches, before heading inside to watch the game.
A handful of players from both sides happily mingled, with AFC Fylde goalkeeper Liz Craven and her parents joining some of the Town players to come together and support the Lionesses, with plenty of others in attendance too as the game got under way.
“Today was good for us with the time it was,” said Huddersfield Town coach Nick Hegarty after the game, which ended in a 4-2 win for the home side in what was a thrilling encounter. “I know some teams cancelled their games, but we had the beautiful thing of two rival teams sat together watching the final together, supporting the same goal and that’s something that doesn’t happen very often. That led into a competitive game on the pitch and we walked off shaking hands after a great game of football.
“It’s one of those things you don’t really know until it comes and by the time England got to the final it’s only a four-day turnaround. Each club and group of players had to do what they thought was right, everyone had their own different circumstances. We had two teams who wanted to get the first game done and dusted and I can’t really speak any higher of Fylde who came down, and a few came down early to watch it here.”
The day worked out nicely under the summer sun which shines over the fields and countryside which surrounds Huddersfield’s ground, buried within the confides of Storthes Hall Park, and you’ll struggle to find a more beautiful backdrop for a game in any division in England.
While they had a willing participant, though Fylde declined to put someone up for interview on the matter post-match, for many this was a stain on the organisation of what is a league growing in stature, with many teams at the top end investing and players dropping down the leagues to create a stronger core of quality, particularly in Tier 3.
The influx of top foreign talent in the WSL is seeing a trickle-down effect of players being pushed in the Championship, and vice versa players whose working lives can’t keep up with the increasing growth of the Championship are dropping down to play for the likes of Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Newcastle United, so now there’s more eyes on the league than ever before.
“That’s where it’s going to get to,” said Hegarty. “There’s probably a strong financially backed four teams in our league (FA WNL North) who should be looking to expand the division above. It’s good and it’s bad. It’s bringing higher quality into the league, but for certain clubs it’s about how can we stay competitive?
“We have to be a bit more creative, as you’ll find with us and quite a few others. We have younger players we bring in while others are taking proven quality from the Championship. Everyone has their model and everyone does their best within the constraints they have. I think within our league there is a mini league depending on who is investing.”
England did not win Sunday’s World Cup final, and as players bemoaned Olga Carmona’s goal, screamed at the top of their lungs at Mary Earps’ penalty save and slumped off in disappointment at the full-time whistle, it did nothing to dampen the day.
The hosts came from 2-1 down, which should have been 3-1 after Fylde missed a one vs one, to win 4-2 in a pulsating end-to-end clash which shows even between sides who haven’t received heavy investment, this is a league very much to be taken seriously, and it didn’t deserve the negative publicity that came with the weekend’s chaos, but as stated, football clubs always look after their own priorities.
Two finals and a home success at Euro 2022 is having a profound effect on the women’s game and the spotlight on it within England, and these matters of disorganisation can’t be buried away anymore and will hopefully not happen again, and even down in the lower tiers Hegarty believes the success of the Lionesses is being felt.
“I think it’s definitely having an effect. A lot of clubs are taking on or absorbing their women’s teams. That’s what these teams need, the funding, and it’s the time to do it because those who don’t do it will just fall behind. They’ll lose the opportunity to have two really good first teams within their own club.
It needs to be noted that clubs in tiers 5 & 6 were affected by this issue. Common sense appears to have prevailed and games were postponed. The issue here was simple. The date of the World Cup Final was known months of not years in advance. After winning the Euros and the optimism generated the 20 August had to a date to avoid in the fixture list. Any excuse given for this is utter rubbish.
It's to be hoped common sense is seen and clubs are not punished for their decisions to postpone, but then when do they FA apply common sense?
Competitive game which resulted in the one manager sent to the stands.....
A point that needs to be made is that the Clubs when choosing the 20th only had a choice of the 20th so whilst the FAWNL tried to blame clubs for choosing the 20th they didn't have a choice.... I would also add there are at least two spare weekends that the game could have been played & planning by a proactive league could have started after England got to the SF's.....