Wolves boss worried for the future of the women’s game

McNamara and his players received the hugely-disappointing news earlier this week that their season had been curtailed for the second year running.

Their results for 2020/21 – six wins from six matches, putting them top of the National League Division One Midlands – were expunged, after suffering the same fate in 19/20 when they had won 14 of 15 games.

Clubs are now being invited to apply for promotion, and Wolves Women – currently in tier four – plan to make their case.

But McNamara insists missing out on a potential title-winning moment together, yet again, has left some of his players in ‘floods of tears’, and he worries participation in women’s football across the nation could experience a significant drop-off.

“It was a huge, huge disappointment. I’ve had a few days to reflect and come to terms with it now,” he said. “I respect the FA’s decision. It is what it is. But it’s a huge disappointment for various reasons.

“For some of the players, it’s been beyond disappointment. A couple of them have been inconsolable – absolute floods of tears.

“Forget about tier three and ambitions, wanting to get up the pyramid. Competitive sport is about moments and creating moments together, and that has been taken away from the players for the second year running. I’m not saying we’d got it in the bag, but we were looking strong and the girls were excited about sharing that moment together.

“Some of them would probably be honest with you, that might have been their last time. For instance, take my club captain Anna Price, who’s worked at the football club for 26 years and had an amazing career. How many more times is she going to be able to win a National League title?

“For that to be taken away from her again, it is absolutely devastating.”

Seasons from tiers three to six of the women’s game were deemed null and void. There will also be no relegation from tier six into seven.

Stourbridge Ladies were among those clubs, having won three of three in the West Midlands Regional League Division One South. Wem Town Ladies – formerly The New Saints Ladies – are also in Wolves’ division.

Some teams will now be promoted ‘via application and based on set criteria’.

On whether that has been discussed and is the route Wolves will go down, McNamara said: “Absolutely. That’s the bitter consolation. I think we’ll be in a very strong position to, hopefully, get one of those promotion places.

“But it’s beyond that promotion for me. Hopefully we’ll get that and be successful with it, but it’s about more than promotion.

“I respect the FA’s decision as they’ve voted off club feedback.

“The difficulty is the classification of tiers three and four.

“That’s where the problem lies, if you’re going to hold tiers three and four alongside another 260 clubs in five, six and seven, whose aim may not to be as ambitious.

“I respect every club that gives women a platform, somewhere for them to play, but you’ve got Huddersfield, Watford, Oxford, Wolves, Southampton, Ipswich in the grassroots pot.

“We obviously wanted to progress. I’d like to ask some of the null and voiders what’s next?

“What should we do with a country of female players who can’t play competitive football for the next five months? That’s what gets me.

“There’s girls who put their lives on hold. They put babies on the back-burner.

“They miss family occasions, miss friends’ birthdays – big moments in lives – to try to be successful.

“In tier three, there’s some international footballers who are trying to be professional footballers.

“So what message does it send to them? You couldn’t blame them for turning around now and saying ‘football isn’t for me’.

“They may want to move into other career opportunities, but the FA have acted on what clubs have voted, so it’s hard to hold them accountable for this decision.”

At Wolves, McNamara and his players have worked hard for success, and the club hierarchy have been keen followers.

Chairman Jeff Shi has regularly been pictured cheering them on at matches and they plan to keep progressing.

McNamara hopes the game as a whole can move forward over the next few years, too.

“Selfishly, of course I want Wolves promoted,” he added. “I personally want me and my players to be working at the highest level we possibly can.

“But I think there’s a wider issue that involves making sure the female football journey the whole country is on doesn’t regress – it doesn’t stop.

“We’ve taken huge strides over the last few years, so we’ve got to ensure there is a plan in place to make sure the game keeps growing and we don’t lose these fantastic young players who are on the edge. That’s the big one for me.”