Wolverhampton Wanderers go by the motto of ‘one pack,’ but Wolves’ campaign highlighted the huge separation of importance between the men’s and the women’s teams.
It was heartache for Wolves Women on the last day of their league season. As the players came back into the changing room after a long, hard-fought year, they were left to ponder what could have been. Wolves almost did the unthinkable. On a shoestring budget, few expected Wanderers to propel themselves into the second tier of English football, but they were so close to defying the odds and doing just that… But then the news broke. It was time for the players to feel aggrieved by a much bigger issue than not winning the league.
As the dust settled on a season that saw the club come just one win away from winning the league, which ordinarily earns you promotion, Wolves’ coaching staff came into the changing room to announce to the team that the owners had not applied for the WSL 2 license, which would have allowed the club to be promoted if they qualified to do so. This meant that due to the incompletion of paperwork, the club knew from the start of the season that it was physically impossible for Wolves to get promoted from the third tier, no matter where they finished; however, the team was only informed after the conclusion of the season.
Lily Simkin, a Wolves player who signed for the club back in January, says, “We found out in the changing room after the last game of the season. It was mainly frustration and disappointment because we’d been playing for nothing. The saddest thing is the players who had been there for a longer period of time weren’t even surprised, which makes it even worse.”
Every Wolves player has been heavily affected by the news that the club had let them down; however, for Simkin, it has led to her feeling as though her second ACL injury, which could be career-defining and was picked up while giving her all trying to get Wolves promoted, was all for nothing.
“I signed for Wolves thinking it was a chance to get back into the Championship,” Simkin says. “Realistically, would I have considered going to Wolves in January if I knew that I was going there for nothing? I probably wouldn’t have joined, so it’s frustrating. I was giving my all, thinking we were going for promotion, and I tore my ACL for the second time. I’ve just had surgery again, and it’s added stress that I didn’t even need.
“It puts me in a position where the other girls can leave or go elsewhere, whereas I’m stuck trying to fight to get back fit because otherwise I can’t find a new club even if I wanted to. I’m potentially getting fit to go back into a team who are not making progress on or off the pitch.
Despite all the frustration and anger, the widespread public support and promise of changes from Wolverhampton Wanderers offer a silver lining in what has been an eye-opener to the way women continue to be treated in football.
“We’ve spoken to people who genuinely care. People at the club that wouldn’t speak up for us before have started to, so I think this time is different. They speak to us and realise that we are human and we deserve as much as the men do,” Says Simkin.
“None of us thought it would spiral how it did and how quickly it did. It shows that there is a community in women’s football. It’s nice to see that off the pitch there is a community that cares about each other. Even our biggest rivals helped us out.”
Although there has been no official announcement yet that the club will apply for the license ahead of the next campaign, the feeling amongst the fans is positive, as they believe that enough noise has been raised for change to be imminent.
Anna Scofield, a men’s and women’s Wolverhampton Wanderers season ticket holder, says, “It’s disappointing because you would never see this with the men’s team, but after the whole footballing community has supported our girls and gone after the club, I’m positive that things will change and there’s a bright future ahead for Wolves women.
Simkin echoes these thoughts, saying, “We’ve always been the underdogs in our league. We run off one of the lowest budgets, and no one ever thinks we’re going to achieve what we achieve. We’ve been called underdogs within our own club. No one expected us to finish where we finished this season, so who says we can’t do it again and go one better?
“I have family history at the club, so I want to fight to make changes. The fans, players, and staff at Wolves have become family, and this has made us even closer.”
Scofield and Simkin highlight the beauty of being the underdog. Sport isn’t about being successful every year, but rather about the hope that you can be. Without people higher up lobbying for improvement of women’s football, this hope can easily be lost, but Wolves will be hoping that when they come back into the changing room at the end of next season, they’re either ecstatic or heartbroken due to their results on the pitch, rather than because of decisions made by millionaire football owners.
