Southampton Women push closer to ultimate Women’s Super League goal

Southampton FC Women have been granted promotion to the third tier of the Women’s game after having their application for upward movement accepted.

Saints confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon with an official announcement and plans will now start to be put in place ahead of an exciting next season.

Since being founded in 2018, Saints Women have had a hugely successful time. A promotion in their first season and imperious form in the two curtailed campaigns since have seen them begin their march through the football pyramid brilliantly.

It was their previous record that ultimately saw them given the opportunity to apply for promotion despite seeing many of their 2019/20 and 2020/21 games unable to be played due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Clear focus means Southampton Women have every chance of further success

Saints are very committed to growing their women’s and girls’ teams over the coming years and a quick glance at the southamptonfc.com website reveals that the club have youth teams from Under-10 to Under-16 level feeding into the first-team.

More from Saints Marching

• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 2: Arrivals
• Grading the Southampton Transfer Window Part 1: Departures
• It’s time to talk about Gavin Bazunu
• Rain clouds on the horizon? Southampton beat Plymouth Argyle
• A lament for Southampton legend James Ward-Prowse

The fact that they have someone like Marianne Spacey-Cale in charge of things is huge in what they are trying to achieve. She chose to leave the England setup and join Saints in the lower divisions and her decision seems to be paying off.

The ultimate goal – as stated when the team was founded – is to reach the Women’s Super League. Playing in the Women’s Championship would also mark huge progress and provide games against major established teams, but the focus will be on the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier for now.

Matt Crocker and Martin Semmens spoke during the recent Fans’ Forum about how committed Saints’ are with their investment in the Women’s game and about how they want to stage more Women’s games at St Mary’s.

Saints Managing Director Toby Steele confirmed back in 2019 that £1m per season is being invested in the growth of the Women’s and girls’ programme.