Looming relegation vote begs question: do WSL clubs now have too much power? | Women’s football

On Friday a shareholder meeting of the Women’s Professional Leagues Ltd took place to discuss the future of the women’s professional game. This was not unusual. The body responsible for running the Women’s Super League and Championship, owned by the clubs and having taken over from the Football Association last summer, holds quarterly meetings and each one has involved discussions on the professional women’s game in England as it enters a new phase.

There was caution ahead of the first season of WPLL ownership; no immediate expansion, no swift progression to full-time referees, no big moves to adopt the other recommendations in the fan-led government review of women’s football carried out by Karen Carney, despite a widespread desire for many of them.

Six months later, however, and with a five-year £65m broadcast rights deal with Sky Sports and the BBC signed, alongside a three‑year £45m sponsorship deal with Barclays, change is afoot. Relegation and promotion, playoffs, expansion, new minimum standards, full professionalism across both leagues – all of these things are on the table. At the forefront is the proposal to create an expanded 16-team top flight by abolishing relegation for four years. Four years is a long time. A long time for owners to get comfortable, complacent and used to the idea of a closed league where their investment is protected.

WPLL shareholders will vote on the proposals at the end of the season, with discussions and consultation ongoing. But who is voting and what are their motivations? Agendas, minutes and attender details of these meetings are not made public. The Guardian understands that the nominated club representatives at the meeting include club owners, chief executives and women’s football leads. If the FA working group that was established to explore what the shift to independence should look like is anything to go by, that included the Brighton chief executive, Paul Barber, the West Ham vice-chair, Karren Brady and the Crystal Palace chair, Steve Parish, then it can be assumed that senior figures are involved.

Details of the WSL and Women’s Championship board meetings that organised the leagues under the FA’s stewardship were not public either, but there was a layer of accountability there, with the FA Board and FA Council assuming overall responsibility. And during the handover to the WPLL, a huge amount of experience in the women’s game has been lost. The exit in March 2023 of Kelly Simmons as director of the women’s professional game was a blow; another was Lady Sue Campbell’s retirement from her role as director of women’s football for the FA six months later. The former media executive Dawn Airey has stayed, swapping her role as chair of the FA WSL and Women’s Championship board for chair of the board for the WPLL, but Airey had been in the FA role only since 2019.

The three independent nonexecutive directors of the WPLL are Sean Cornwell, previously the chief executive of Direct Ferries; Maria Raga, who was the chief executive of the online marketplace Depop, bought by Etsy for $1.6bn in 2021; and the former Aberdeen forward Malcolm Kpedekpo, who has been a nonexecutive director at the Scottish FA since 2019.

The leadership team that reports to the chief executive, Nikki Doucet, includes more new faces in the chief operations officer, Holly Murdoch, who joined the FA in 2012 and worked in the horse racing industry, the interim chief marketing officer, Ruth Hooper, a brand and marketing expert, and the chief revenue officer, Zarah Al-Kudcy, who spent a year as commercial director at Chelsea Women after jobs in F1, cricket and rugby. Already one of the new faces forming the leadership team has departed, with the chief football officer, Mirelle van Rijbroek, leaving that post after eight months to join the National Women’s Soccer League side Bay FC. Van Rijbroek’s appointment to WPLL was announced with much fanfare. In contrast, her departure has barely been mentioned.

From the shareholders to the leadership team to the independent nonexecutive directors, there is clearly a wealth of experience spread across several industries, including football. But there is also a gaping hole: not enough women’s football experience.

For decades women have had to fight for the right to play football and to work in football. Very few of those with a deep understanding of the game, its uniqueness and with a principled position on its development, remain leading it. That is not to say that those in leadership roles at WPLL are not quick learners or don’t care. Far from it. Doucet and her team want to see the women’s game grow and prosper; five minutes in her company will tell you that. The benefit of the doubt will be given to them, but it would be naive to afford the same to the owners of Women’s Super League clubs.

Since independence from the FA was first mooted, the Guardian has repeatedly asked what checks and balances would be put in place to prevent individual club interests from shifting the focus of decision making away from what is good for the game. No definitive or convincing answers from the FA or the WPLL have been given.

Those interests are rearing their heads in the discussions around the proposals to scrap relegation from the WSL. Those in favour are often those responsible for the most underfunded women’s teams. This is not a coincidence.

If those running the WPLL are smart, they won’t lean away from critical scrutiny. The strength of feeling among fans is their biggest ally against detrimental changes made by self-interested clubs. This is a call for them to embrace that emotion and use it.