WSL and FAWC suspend remaining season indefinitely

It’s well known now that the Premier League and EFL have suspended the 2019-20 season indefinitely until it it is considered safe to resume play. Up until now, we didn’t have a good sense as whether the top two divisions of women’s football would follow suit.

Now we know. The FA released a statement today on its website declaring that the WSL and FAWC will suspend all matches until further notice, but stopped short of canceling the season altogether.

Following the Premier League’s announcement that it will not resume at the beginning of May – and that the 2019-20 season will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so, we can confirm that the Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship will also follow this approach.

The restart date is under constant review with all stakeholders, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic develops and we work together through this very challenging time.

The FA is working closely with the whole of professional football in this country, as well as with the Government, public agencies and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the game achieves a collaborative solution.

I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. While the financial stakes are much (much) lower, the WSL title is still very much up for grabs, and there’s also Champions League qualification to think about. Meanwhile, if matches are able to be played in front of fans, perhaps some of the struggling clubs in the FAWC might have a better chance of emerging from this crisis intact.

Tottenham Hotspur Women were having a fantastic season, sitting in sixth place at the time of the stoppage, one point behidn Reading and with a pretty favorable run-in. There would be a decent chance that Spurs could end the season as high as fifth or even fourth with a couple of big results, assuming play resumes. Not too shabby for their first season in the top flight.