Empowering for Success: The FA Women’s National League Strategy Driving Progress in Women’s Football

Photo: Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography

The FA Women’s National League (FA WNL) has shared an update on the progress of its strategy, ‘Empowering for Success’, which aims to help clubs thrive both on and off the pitch. Launched at the start of the 2022/23 season, this inaugural strategy for tiers three and four of the women’s football pyramid has already delivered significant progress across its eight priority areas.

Supported by investment from the Premier League, several targets have been met or exceeded ahead of schedule in the strategy’s first year. These achievements include surpassing goals for club and player satisfaction in the annual survey and achieving 34% recognition among women’s football fans, well above the 25% target.

Key Achievements

  • Minimum Standards: Introducing minimum standards has helped clubs create safe, professional, and sustainable environments across the leagues.
  • Diversity in Coaching: The target for minority ethnic representation among managers and assistant managers (7%) has been met, while women now occupy 22% of coaching roles, closing in on the 23% target.
  • Leadership and Development: Initiatives like the ‘Effective Coaching in the Female Game’ course and the ‘Coaching Performance Initiative’ have supported 30 coaches in their development.
  • Club Support: A £250,000 grant has been distributed to drive standards across clubs.
  • Refereeing: 33 new referees have joined the Emerging Talent Programme.
  • League and Matchday Growth: All 72 clubs completed the 2023/24 season—an FA WNL first—and record-breaking attendances saw 21 clubs play in Premier League or EFL stadiums.
  • Marketing and Commercial Growth: The FA WNL TikTok channel launched, and the League Cup Final was held at a Premier League stadium for the first time.

For me, the most pleasing stat is the growth in diversity within the women’s game at this level. Hopefully, this will prove a launchpad for coaches to progress through to the higher levels of the women’s football pyramid in the near future.

Much of the FA WNL infrastructure, especially in the fourth tier, is volunteer-led these volunteers must be supported and empowered to perform their roles to meet the rising demands of this level. 

Gone are the days when FA WNL teams just needed to focus on the players on the pitch, the players must be provided with the resources, expertise and environment to flourish. 

Moneyfields Women v Portsmouth Women U23 Photo: Alex Shute Photography

Chair of the FA WNL Board, Sue Hough, highlighted the league’s progress:
“As we reach the midpoint of our ‘Empowering for Success’ strategy, we are seeing exceptional growth and increased interest across all levels.

“The promotion of Portsmouth and Newcastle to the second tier marks a historic milestone and showcases the passion and potential within the pyramid. While we’ve made great strides, there is still much to do to unlock the full potential of the FA WNL. We remain committed to supporting our 72 member clubs to perform and operate at their highest level.”

This strategy not only reflects the growing ambitions of women’s football but also ensures that tiers three and four are not left behind in the sport’s rapid evolution. For advocates of the FA WNL, these developments offer hope for a bright and sustainable future for clubs at this level.

To read the full review, click here.

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