Manchester United Women football team will finally set foot on the pitch 13 years later after being disbanded in 2005.
The English Football Association (FA) has approved the application of the top-flight Premier League club Manchester United to form a team in the second division FA Women’s Championship. ManU’s women squad will be based in the Red Devils’ academy training centre at The Cliff, in Salford, once redevelopment work on the facility is carried out.
ManU submitted an application to the FA to form a women’s team in March. The decision to approve the application was taken by the FA Women’s Football Board and followed a detailed review and assessment of all 15 applications which were received, and the outcome of Sunday’s Women’s Premier League Championship Play-Off Final.
The news comes after the FA announced plans in September to reform the Women’s Super League, the top division of women’s football in England, which will see a fully professional top tier introduced from the 2018/19 season.
Fellow club West Ham United’s women team has also been awarded a slot in the top-tier Women’s Super League for the 2018-19 season, where it will compete alongside Arsenal, Birmingham City Ladies, Brighton & Hove Albion Women, Bristol City Women, Chelsea FC Women, Everton Ladies FC, Liverpool Ladies FC, Manchester City Women, Reading FC Women and Yeovil Town Ladies.
Manchester United Women will compete in the Women’s Championship alongside Aston Villa Ladies FC, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Durham Women FC, London Bees, Millwall Lionesses, Sheffield FC Ladies, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies, Charlton Athletic Women, and three more new teams – Leicester City Women, Lewes FC Women and Sheffield United Ladies. Charlton earned a spot after winning Sunday’s Women’s Premier League Championship Play-Off Final.
The clubs to drop out of the top two tiers are current top-flight outfit Sunderland and second-tier sides Watford and Oxford. Southampton, Crystal Palace and Derby County were unsuccessful in their bids to join the new second division. All new clubs are required to sign a license with the FA and the offers from the FA Women’s Football Board remain conditional until it is received
Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, said, “The new women’s team will build on the success of the Girls’ Regional Talent Club and have the same philosophy as all Manchester United sides, creating a pathway from academy to first team.”
“We will be making some exciting announcements in the coming days and weeks. Starting a professional team from scratch is challenging but rewarding and we will make every effort to provide the support and experience for the new women’s team to be successful and to uphold the fine traditions of our great club.”
Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA’s head of women’s football, added, “This announcement is the result of two years of planning and a milestone within our delivery of The Gameplan for Growth strategy. The revised competition structure will positively impact on the delivery of the women’s game across all levels, both on and off the pitch.”
“Such is the strength of women’s football in this country, there have been some difficult decisions to make but they’ve been made with the sport’s best interests at heart. This is a hugely exciting time for the game and I am hopeful that we will look back upon this as one of the most significant decisions made in its history.”
The club has faced criticism for not having an adult women’s side, with England women’s national team coach Phil Neville saying in January that he would discuss the matter with his former team. Manchester United have been without a senior women’s team for 13 years, after scrapping their women’s side in 2005. Ex-England international Casey Stoney is reportedly being lined up to manage the new squad.
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