Season scrapped, England seeks to keep gains in women’s game
Runners-up when the season was paused, champions without playing again. It’s no surprise that Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was fine with the Women’s Super League season being curtailed.But determining the final standings on a points-pergame ratio, rather than on the field due to the coronavirus pandemic, raised questions about the commitment to the women’s game in England. While the WSL was abandoned, the men’s Premier League will restart on June 17 after a 100-day suspension.
“Just because it didn’t resume doesn’t mean we’re under threat or at risk,” Hayes said Saturday. “I trust in the people running the league and I believe we’ll come back bigger, stronger and better from this.”
When the Blues last played — before the international break and the coronavirus shutdown — they were a point behind leader Manchester City but with a game in hand.
“They tried desperately to resume the season,” Hayes said. “Everybody has to appreciate the players too. I think it got to a period where they wanted a termination in the season and then safeguard and ring-fence everything that we worked hard towards in the women’s game — to start in a timely and safe manner for the upcoming season.”
The Premier League is the world’s richest football league, receiving more than 3 billion pounds ($3.8 billion) each year from broadcasters, which provided the funding for the mass COVID-19 testing now required each week to ensure players and coaches were not infected and spreading the disease. The government is also mandating strict hygiene conditions around training and games, which proved prohibitive.