- FA proposes idea of academy-level B teams from WSL and WC joining lower leagues
- Talks of possible expansions to leagues
- Mixed response from fans, clubs and managers
- Not a long-term solution to improving women’s football in England but a start to further development
B teams joining English women’s football lower leagues a good idea but not a long-term solution
I know it received a mixed reception but I think introducing the B teams to lower league English women’s football is an excellent idea. But I’d hope those making the decisions understand it’s not a long-term solution to growing women’s football in England, but instead, a great way to quickly improve youth players amid an expansion of the league system.
The only problem I have with introducing b teams is that it will require club owners across the English league system to up the investment into the women’s teams otherwise the likes of Chelsea women’s team, Arsenal women’s team and Manchester City’s women’s team will be so far ahead of the other teams, all competitiveness in the league will be dead.
Those top clubs will see generations of their players at the highest levels and unless the other teams/leagues invest it’ll start to resemble a four-league competition.
Women’s football youth academies in England seeking to bridge gaps
From what’s already been revealed, it seems that B teams from the Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship clubs will enter tier four of the pyramid in the summer of 2026.
The women’s football youth academies in England are growing but they are not as competitive as the WSL teams want for their B teams and youth players. For clubs like Chelsea, who can spend money, they will be pushing to close the gap between their academy players and their first teams. If they can achieve it they can create a strong and constant stream of top players ready to move into first-team football with more ease.
Whilst it has received a mixed reaction online you can understand why these clubs will keep pushing for a move like this, a move that appears to be part of a plan for major restructuring of tiers three to six of the English women’s football pyramid. It could also mean the leagues have more teams in them.
I’m on board with expanding the leagues, I think from the top of the pyramid to the bottom there should be at least 14 teams in each league with a solid plan of how to become 20-team leagues within a decade.
I understand why fans are concerned with these B teams being promoted as high as the third tier in the future – it would see them just two leagues below their first teams and it’s not clear what would happen if say Chelsea women’s first team were to get relegated down to the same league as their B team.
It’s still in the discussion stage and I’d like to know more about how this would work before casting my opinion on it. I really love the promotion/ relegation system we have in football in England. It’s a staple of European football and I wouldn’t want to lose it.
Pros and Cons of the B team plans
- Massively benefit clubs investing in their youth system as the academy-league system is not challenging enough
- Allows young players to get more minutes – and would benefit lower league teams by playing more matches
- Bridges the gap between academy players and senior teams
Cons
- No clear understanding of how it will impact the promotion/relegation system
- Fears lower leagues could be dominated by the big clubs if their B teams join
One of the other concerns with the plans could come down to credibility. We all want to see lower league women’s football in England become fully professional over the next few years and if that does happen, will the leagues and teams lose credibility if they’re playing B teams?
It could also knock a bit of confidence in the players if they start to struggle against B teams and could result in stumping the growth of fanbases.
None of us want the WSL to be dominated by the three or four clubs that currently dominate it. We all want to see the top league become more competitive so is it really worth risking our lower leagues also being dominated by those few teams?
The only way to counter this will be for the lower league teams to keep investing. Slow and steady wins the race.