Watson tells FA: Women’s restructure is required

Karl Watson insists there is a desperate need for a restructure of the women's game between steps 3-6 after the 2020/21 season was curtailed.

The Moneyfields Women's manager believes there is a 'massive imbalance from top to bottom' and the FA must do something to even things out across the pyramid as a whole before the start of the next campaign.

Southern Region Premier Division Moneys and other clubs operating at steps 3-6 of the women's game were informed of the FA's decision to 'curtail the season with immediate effect and declared incomplete' earlier this week.

It dealt another blow to teams operating below Super League and Championship level, with a second successive campaign ended early because of the pandemic.

As a result, no promotions or relegations will take place.

However, there remains some hope for Moneys and other clubs with a recommendation for alternative movement provided.

Watson - whose side are currently in the fifth tier of the women’s pyramid, two below Southern Premier Division Portsmouth stressed it's a step that must be taken.

He said: ‘I tell you what this has highlighted for me, in a big way, the failure of the women’s pyramid as it stands at the moment - it doesn’t work.

‘I understand you have to earn your way up but there has to be some kind of restructure because it doesn’t matter what league you look in, there is massive imbalance from top to bottom.

‘There’s a massive gap between top and bottom sides in so many women’s leagues that you will always get ridiculous scorelines when you look at how it’s structured.'

Moneyfields, who were formed in 2017, had played just two league matches this season, winning both, prior to the curtailment.

But Watson says the FA only need to look at how they've performed in various divisions since starting out to show they belong at a higher level.

Moneys have lost just a solitary league match since forming achieving two promotions in that time - and Watson revealed he began planning for life at National League level three years ago.

Watson said: ‘I started putting everything in place in 2018 for our third promotion. Now, because of the way it’s been dealt with, we’re now looking at 2022 before we have a chance of that promotion.

'That’s going to be four years of work that because we’re not millionaires in the Super League no-one cares about us.’

Watson said Moneyfields ‘have been given a little bit of hope’ and have already applied for promotion.

‘We wouldn’t go up just to sit there, we’d be going in as one of the two or three favourites to go up again,’ he declared. - LEWIS MASON