Tottenham Women awarded WSL license, will become fully professional

More Spurs Women news because this is HUGE! Tottenham Hotspur announced on their social media channels and on the club website that Spurs have been officially awarded a license to participate in the Women’s Super League for the 2019-20 season!

This is MASSIVELY EXCITING for women’s football at Tottenham Hotspur. As we’ve noted several times in the past, Tottenham Hotspur Ladies (Tottenham Hotspur Women as of next season) have existed as a semi-professional club since they were folded into the organization as an associate member. That means that the players are not full time professional athletes and are playing for very low wages in their spare time.

However, thanks to a mandate that took effect beginning this past season, only fully professional clubs can participate in the WSL. Functioning as a pro club is one of a few mandates that are required for any club to participate in the top tier of English football going forward. (Ryan Rosenblatt has an excellent article about why the FA’s mandate is problematic and has left a number of important clubs behind, which you should read.)

Today’s announcement is confirmation that all mandates have been, or will be, fulfilled and Spurs are approved to join the WSL. That means that big changes are going to happen in the offseason, including the aforementioned name change, the hiring of a Director of Women’s Football, and additional investment into the club to help it survive what will likely be a difficult transition to professional football. It will also probably mean a lot of player turnover, and we don’t know what that will look like yet.

But those are issues for a later date. For now, this is a time for celebration of what Spurs have accomplished not only this season but the past several campaigns. They will be playing football at the highest levels of the English women’s game, and presumably will be fully folded into Tottenham Hotspur organization. Way to go, Spurs Women!