Football Association drops plans for women’s football pyramid expansion

Plan would have meant WSL B teams in lower leaguesExtensive consultation receives widespread praise

The Football Association has decided not to press ahead with a proposal to expand tiers three to six of the English women’s football pyramid that would have led to ‘B’ teams from Women’s Super League teams introduced into the lower leagues in 2026, the Guardian can reveal.

The governing body sent clubs a detailed proposal in January that would have brought WSL B teams into tier four of the pyramid from as early as the 2026-27 season, and meant a major reconfiguration of the leagues’ promotion and relegation structure but according to multiple sources, on Wednesday, all lower-league clubs were informed than the plan will not proceed, following extensive feedback.

It is understood the FA consulted all clubs, including holding roadshow events around the country, and a survey was completed by 144 clubs – of those, just under 55% said they supported the proposals overall, but the wider feedback received has led to the FA deciding to take more time to find the right solutions for the future of the lower leagues. It is understood that parents of academy players were also consulted for their views, as well as the Football Supporters’ Association, and there was also extensive consultation with clubs in the top two tiers and dialogue with the WPLL, the company that runs the WSL and the Championship. Two separate sources at tier-four clubs praised the extensiveness of the consultation.

An email sent to lower-league clubs on Wednesdaysaid: “The consultation period was an opportunity for us to listen to and understand the views of the wider game. Therefore, given what we have heard, it is recognised that more work is required to find the right solution to the challenges, and the current proposals will not be moving forward at this time.”

The plans would have also led to the divisions in tiers three and four of the pyramid increasing from 12 to 14 teams per division. There would have been changes to the promotion rules too, with three rather than two teams relegated to tier four from each of the tier-three divisions. The four league winners in tier four would be promoted and the runners-up would have entered playoffs to determine two new promotion spots. Additionally, there would have been a vast expansion of tier six, which currently has 16 divisions and that could have risen to as many as 24 regional leagues with 10 teams per league, if the plans had gone ahead.

Instead, the existing one-up, one-down structure will remain in place across those leagues. But it is understood there remains a commitment from the FA to continue reviewing the options for how the leagues should look in the future. One of the key reasons the proposals were drawn up in the first place was that the governing body had sought to find ways to enhance the amount of meaningful, competitive matches that 16-to-19-year-old players were receiving, amid widespread concerns at lots of clubs about the state of the reserve and academy leagues. Discussions about different ways to resolve this issue will continue, but the earliest any future changes could come in would now have to be the summer of 2027.

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