by The Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship will enter a new era from next season, when they will be held outside the auspices of the Football Association for the first time, but what can we expect?
The new chief executive of both leagues, former Canadian banker Nikki Doucet, is addressing the media at Wembley for the first time in his new role, and while much of the legal paperwork for the move is still being sorted out by the former Nike director. she gave the first taste of her plans for the future.
One message was immediately clear: fans should not expect any immediate radical changes to the structure of the league next season. There will still be 12 teams in each division next term, alongside the current League Cup which will feature all 24 teams.
Long-term expansion is not being ruled out but one thing Doucet has clearly ruled out is any suggestion that a series of closed stores be established. She says that the ‘NewCo’ – the temporary name for the new entity that will run the two divisions – is fully in favor of protecting the pyramid system of promotion and relegation. “Yes, 100 percent,” she said. “That’s part of the NewCo proposal and what each of the 24 clubs signed up for, so it’s not a closed league.”
Could the 3pm blackout be abolished for women only fixtures?
It looks like it will be a case of evolution rather than revolution from 2024-25, but fans will still have plenty of questions. In particular, what is the ‘NewCo’?
It is a new body, which will be owned by the 24 clubs, and aims to make the WSL and the Championship financially sustainable. Doucet would not have been drawn to the prospect of outside investment, nor to the idea of investment from the men’s Premier League. She could not yet reveal the likely composition of the new board, nor what percentage the FA will retain as a golden share in the company, but she confirmed that the NewCo is in talks with broadcasters about the coverage rights. the series from next season. The current deal, with the BBC and Sky, expires this summer.
“We have two great partners at the moment in Sky and BBC,” said Doucet. “I think it’s our task to understand the issue of ‘reach and income’, that’s what we still need, reach. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that we’re starting to make the right insights and fandom is really in its infancy. More than anything, it should be as easy as possible for fans to be able to watch the league. How we can do that is what we’re exploring.”
Doucet was also asked if the WSL will try to play live TV games during the traditional 3pm blackout slot on Saturday, but replied: “Obviously the biggest obstacle is Article 48 which covers all of football. Karen Carney’s review said women’s football needs to figure out its ‘own agenda’. So we’re exploring what that looks like. We are looking at all possibilities.”
‘Project Moonshot’ by Doucet
Having been chosen for this new CEO role following an extensive recruitment process commissioned by the FA which concluded 12 months ago, Doucet has been consulting with club directors for months before her appointment was officially announced, and has been named her vision for the team. leagues: Project Moonshot.
“When I was working with Nike, we wouldn’t talk about our competition [being] the No 1 brand. We always want to talk about where the consumer is going next and try to imagine what isn’t there yet. And we would call them those moons, that’s where the name came from,” she explained. “And within that is a proposal that all the clubs have agreed to, and we are currently working through the legal transition.
“I basically see this as a start-up. When you look at the statistics on audience growth and social media, if you look at that alone and without judging the direct comparison to men’s football, you’d be like… holy’ this high-. start text growth. We have to look at the data, what the fans are telling us, what the players are telling us and are we assessing that?
“Things will be very difficult but at the same time, everyone will be trying hard too and that’s exciting and that’s how it is. It’s hard to go to the moon, it’s hard to do anything good, so that’s accepted and I don’t necessarily feel too happy about that.”
‘This series is the future’
Doucet also says that the NewCo agrees with all the recommendations made within the Carney review, published last year, chaired by former England star Karen Carney. The new CEO is also promising that smaller Championship clubs will be heard as the game continues to grow, saying: “Their voice has been heard throughout this whole process. We had their voice on the CEO working group. As we continue to bring NewCo to life their voice is still there.
“Both layers are NewCo itself. It is likely that there are different strategies for the two sets to ensure that they both succeed because they are at different stages of their development. A successful Championship also means a successful WSL and vice versa. They are interconnected.”
The creation of NewCo represents a long-planned and significant moment for the women’s leagues, which have been run by the FA since the creation of the WSL in 2011. As Chief Executive of the new body, Doucet has major responsibilities. And why did she want this job? She replied: “Here [the women’s game] It is my passion. I see a world where women’s sport and women’s football in particular change the world and I believe in the power of sport.
“The experience of going to a women’s game is more like the Glastonbury experience, it’s a festival experience. That’s a very different fan base. That’s what we have to bring to life. Who doesn’t want to be a part of that? This series is the future.”
