EXCLUSIVE: Women’s Super League relaunch in 2024 could be under THREAT with Premier League teams at odds with FA’s £25m funding plan
- Ways to fund the Women’s Super League has caused fierce debate of late
- The 20 men’s teams in the Premier League disagree on the best way forward
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast It’s All Kicking Off
Premier League clubs could thwart a proposed relaunch of the Women’s Super League next year due to disagreements over funding.
Mail Sport has learned that the FA have asked the 20 male top-flight clubs to provide around £25million to set up an enhanced competition for the 2024-25 season, but a majority of them have yet to agree.
The FA’s plans are timed to coincide with the start of the next WSL TV deal and build on the success of England’s Lionesses, who have sparked a huge rise in interest in the women’s game by reaching the World Cup final this summer after winning last year’s European Championship.
Sources with knowledge of the negotiations have told Mail Sport that while a ‘significant minority’ of Premier League clubs support the FA’s proposal they are someway short of getting the 14 votes required to introduce the changes.
The FA are understood to be concerned that they are running out of time to complete the relaunch next year and have set a deadline of December to get the funding in place.
The Football Associationare proposing a relaunch of the Women’s Super League next year
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Under their proposal the Premier League clubs would take ownership of the WSL, although the FA would retain a so-called golden share, giving them the right of veto over key decisions.
The Premier League remain interested in taking over the WSL, but have yet to formally put the proposals to the clubs, who are split on whether this is the right time.
The FA’s proposal would see the start-up costs come from the Premier League’s central funds, although there is considerable disagreement amongst the clubs over whether they should all contribute and how much each should put in.
The split amongst the clubs is not thought to replicate the traditional Big Six v the other 14 dividing lines. To complicate matters only half of the Premier League currently have clubs in the 12-team WSL and many of their women’s teams are much lower in the pyramid, with Brentford playing in the sixth tier for example.
20 Premier League clubs are being eyed for £25m funding – but they are not all in agreement
The FA launched the WSL in 2013 and have been exploring ways of increasing investment in the competition for several years, including holding talks over a possible £150m sale to an American private equity firm, as revealed by Mail Sport last summer.
Top clubs including Chelsea and Manchester City were interested in exploring the private equity option, but the FA concluded that Premier League are best placed to run the competition given their resources and expertise in areas such as commercial growth and marketing,
The FA are convinced that a relaunch enabling greater investment in players, development and facilities is needed as soon as possible, particularly with the current TV deal with Sky Sports and the BBC expiring next summer.
The existing deal is worth around £8m-a-year, but they are hoping for far more next time around after the record viewing figures attracted by the Lionesses. A peak audience of 14m watched England’s World Cup final defeat to Spain last month making it the second most-watched TV event of the last 12 months after the King’s Coronation.
The FA and Premier League declined to comment.
Success of the Lionesses, at the Euros and World Cup, has raised profile of women’s football
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