Watford Ladies announce controversial plan to drop out of the Women's Super League and into third-tier

The club's players and manager have been left distraught by the controversial decision to pull out of the Women's Super League

Watford will no longer play in the Women's Super League (Getty)

It was slipped out in an opaque press release heavy on meaningless buzzy phrases like ‘a vibrant and active community-led offering’, but no-one at Watford Ladies was fooled. The real news was that their team was effectively dead.

A club called Watford Ladies will still exist, but it will be an amateur part-time outfit operating in a regional league, not the current one, which performs in the Women’s Super League, includes international players and has a Women’s FA Cup-winning manager.

The news, a shock to the unsuspecting players and coaching staff, came just three days before the deadline for WSL clubs to apply for a place in the FA’s revamped competition. Those involved say the club had promised it would be applying and players were recruited this season on that understanding.

Manager Keith Boanas told The Independent: “It took me as much by surprise as anyone. I had been retained on the assurance we would be applying. I am severely disappointed on behalf of the players and staff.”

It is understood many players found out from the press release while preparing to attend a meeting at which they were to be told. Their reaction can best be summed up by a tweet from their most high profile player, Wales’ record goalscorer Helen Ward.

Referring to the social media outlet’s new character limit she tweeted: “280 characters still isn’t enough to say what I want to say right now… so it’s best I don’t say anything at all.” Ward, who was at Watford from age nine to 23, only returned in August, encouraged by “the plans and ambitions of the club”.

Watford’s decision to pull out of the WSL highlights the risk of the FA’s latest initiative. Seeking to raise overall standards in a competition that is increasingly dominated by three clubs (Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal) the FA have mandated all WSL1 clubs must be full-time as of next season, and run academies. WSL2 clubs would be part-time with some full-time support staff, but would need to go full-time if promoted.

Watford FC, whose expected television income next season is likely to be around £120m, have decided the cost of meeting these requirements (around £600,000 in WSL1, much less in WSL2, in which Watford currently play) is beyond them. They will thus not be applying for a place and intend to revert to the regional Women’s Premier League (and presumably refuse promotion if they win it).

It is not clear how many clubs will be applying for WSL1 status. The FA have set an upper limit of 14 but are unlikely to get that. However, some clubs will take the chance to leapfrog into the top flight – WPL club West Ham have already announced they will bid for a licence.

Back at Watford Boanas, angry at having been put in a position where he unknowingly misled players, is considering his position. Some players can be expected to take the opportunity of the Christmas transfer window to leave. The league season, meanwhile, runs until May, but increasingly lacks relevance.