IT’S DEJA VU AS FAWNL CAMPAIGN AGAIN CUT SHORT
The FAWNL’s 2020-21 season was a disappointing deja vu as, like 2019-20, the coronavirus pandemic forced a premature end to the campaign.
Initially suspended in early January 2021 as England entered its third national lockdown due to the crisis, The FA formally ended the season on 15 March.
An FA statement noted: “The FA Women's Football Board, taking into account the views of clubs and leagues, decided that extending the 2020-21 league season beyond the end of May 2021 would not be a viable option due to the operational issues faced by many clubs and leagues.”
In that statement it was also announced that, as in 2019-20, there would be no promotion or relegation between divisions. But hope was given that those issues could be addressed as the statement added: “A process of upward club movement, via application and based on set criteria, should take place.”
That process did indeed take place and several clubs, to their delight, were granted ‘upward movement.’ Most notably perhaps were Sunderland, a year after the voiding of the 2019-20 season at the point they were well clear at the top of the Northern Premier Division table and looking certain to go on and claim the title.
A double-whammy for the Black Cats had been the cancellation of the season’s League Cup after they had qualified for the final, where they would have played Stoke City.
So it was cause for big celebrations when it was confirmed that Mel Reay’s team had met those FA criteria and would step up to the FA Women’s Championship for the 2021-22 campaign.
Manager Reay, reflecting on that exciting time for her team, said: “The promotion was a reward for the whole club. The effort on and off the pitch hadn’t gone unnoticed and it felt like a huge moment to put Sunderland back on the map. I felt a step closer to where I wanted to get the team back to.”
The Black Cats had stood at fifth place in the table, 10 points below leaders Huddersfield Town, at the point that the season was concluded. But Huddersfield decided against applying for upward movement, whose criteria were explained by The FA in a statement on 21 June.
The statement read: “Applications were marked against a criteria weighted 75 per cent on-field and 25 per cent off-field. The on-field criteria considered aspects such as points per game, Cup performances and goal difference, across the last two seasons.
“The off-field section marked clubs on areas such as club structure, workforce and facilities. Clubs applying to move into the FA Women’s Championship, also had to demonstrate that they would be able to meet the required licence criteria.”
Four months before that FA announcement the Huddersfield chairman, David Mallin, had pointed out his club’s position, saying: “whilst we were thinking about making a licence application the committee has decided to put it back 12 months and I think that’s the right decision.”
So Sunderland it was who stepped up to the Championship, to be joined through upward movement by a Watford team that - at the time the 2020/21 campaign was ended - had been leading the Southern Premier Division by a single point from second in the table Oxford United.
A thrilled Watford head coach Clinton Lancaster said: “The initial feeling is ecstatic, I’m just over the moon and delighted. It’s been a long time coming and the players and staff have had to be patient. We’re absolutely thrilled to have our application accepted, especially after everyone’s hard work over the last few years.”
Club captain Helen Ward, a former Arsenal star and a prolific striker for Wales as well as the Golden Girls, added: “A lot of hard work has gone into this. Not only is it the players on the field trying to achieve promotion, but it’s off the pitch. We’ve put ourselves forward in a really good way to achieve this, so it’s a really nice feeling to know that everybody’s work has paid off.”
The departures from the FAWNL of Sunderland and Watford were followed by several changes of clubs in both the Northern Premier and Southern Premier Divisions ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Stepping up through upward movement to the Northern Premier would be Division One Midlands team Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had been top of the table at 2020-21’s conclusion, plus Brighouse Town who had been in Division One North’s second place.
The addition of Wolves and Brighouse meant that the Northern Premier would be expanded from 12 to 13 teams, while the expansion in the Southern Premier would be from 12 to 14 teams.
Dropping down from the Championship would be London Bees, while Southampton were set to move up from Division One South West and Ipswich Town from Division One South East - both sides having been top of their respective 2020-21 tables.
One other change in the Southern Premier would see a re-branding of Yeovil United as Bridgewater United. Yeovil had switched from ‘Town’ to ‘United’ in 2020 after the women’s team had separated from the men’s Yeovil Town FC. They then merged with Bridgewater Town and would play in the Southern Premier as Bridgewater United.
Due to the ongoing problems caused by the coronavirus, the FAWNL Cup was not contested in 2020-21.
