Doncaster Rovers Belles stormed to the WSL 2 title in 2018, with just one loss across the season and finished ten points ahead of second place Brighton. However, instead of being promoted, they were relegated to the National League North. The club didn’t receive a points deduction, and received the trophy, so why?
Traditional promotion/relegation between WSL and WSL2 was scrapped for the 2017/18 season after the FA announced in September of 2017 that the top tier would only be for full time clubs from 2018/19 and every club had to reapply for their place in the top flight.
The FA said the restructure was aimed at creating a “stronger commercial model” and to “improve the performance of the women’s game on and off the pitch”.
Katie Brazier, the FA’s head of women’s leagues and competitions said back in 2017: “It will provide an elite performance environment that will produce more and better players, increase the interest and excitement via a more competitive league, attract a greater number of fans and in turn deliver improved commercial viability for clubs and the leagues.”
The guidelines for clubs looking to join the WSL were:
- Minimum 16 hour per week contracts for players.
- Minimum financial investment requirements.
- An academy system.
The Belles were unable to obtain these requirements so weren’t able to be promoted, but why did they get relegated?
The club were initially offered a tier two license for 2018/19 in December of 2017, however the WSL wasn’t the only league to receive a revamp, with the WSL2 now requiring teams to provide contact time for players of at least eight hours per week.
South Yorkshire’s most successful side were unable to provide this and in July of 2018, the club announced in a statement they would be withdrawing from the newly revamped Championship.
The statement read: “We have worked closely with the FA and mutually agreed the change in leagues which will ensure the continued viability and re-growth of the club.
“Recent changes have allowed us to reflect and refocus. We are excited to see a wealth of young developing players, who have a great opportunity to hit their full potential under a fantastic coaching team.”
- Read More – The world of South Yorkshire Women’s Football media and Donny Belles’ stadium future – SYWF
While the club remained optimistic about the decision, it ended up having catastrophic consequences for the club. In the short term they lost their best players including top scorer Jessica Sigsworth to Manchester United, while long term the club have never fully recovered.
The following season (2018/19), the club finished second bottom of the National League North and were relegated once again, this time to the Women’s National League Division One Midlands where they finished 10th.
After a COVID hit season, in 2021/22 the Belles just missed out on promotion back to the National League North with a second place finish, and repeated that fate the following year. In 23/24 the side were moved from the Midlands to the North and struggled finishing midtable, before eventually succumbing to relegation this season.
This turn of fate came despite the club being taken over by Club Doncaster in 2019, which had been seen as a ‘wonderful opportunity’.
With the Belles now in the fifth tier, they’ll be hoping for a summer refresh as they look to hit back instantly. You can find all SYWF’s articles about Doncaster Rovers Belles here.
