Blackburn Rovers at danger of Women’s Champion relegation due to
Blackburn Rovers have actually been offered till Monday, May 18 to decide whether they wish to remain in the Women’s Championship or face relegation from English football’s 2nd tier.According to sources
who, like all referenced in this piece, wanted to stay anonymous to secure relationships, the club has failed to state its intent to finance their females’s team.Advertisement The Women’s Super
League Football(formerly called the Women’s Professional Leagues Limited), the organisation in charge of running the top two divisions of English females’s football, has sent Blackburn a seven-day deadline in which the owners should state their objective to economically back the ladies’s group and fulfill club licensing criteria, sources said.If no statement of intent is signed, the club will leave of the second division.The ladies’s group is awaiting the ownership’s decision, leaving players and staff
in limbo over their future. No choice has been made but at this stage it appears significantly unlikely that the ownership will agree to the needed financing for next year.Compliance and advancement reviews are basic across the top 2 tiers and carried out ahead of each new season.
Every club is asked by the league to comply with the participation agreement.Advertisement Players and staff were informed of the circumstance on Tuesday following a conference of members of the club’s hierarchy on Monday,
with many within the
team said to be “devastated “by the unfolding situation.Blackburn defender Niamh Murphy wrote on social networks: I have been a Blackburn player for 3 seasons and the only consistency there has been is the absence of financial support from the club.”Whilst this season might not look effective to others, we have when again avoided relegation regardless of having the tiniest budget. This is a substantial success and a credit to the women
‘s players and staff. “This group has worked relentlessly hard all season for so little reward. We all make less than a liveable wage, with lots of players needing to live away from home whilst also needing to work other tasks to survive, and this is what we get in return.”Ad Blackburn decreased to comment when approached by Blackburn have significant pedigree in the women’s game with a strong academy set-up, with the club producing England internationals and Euro 2022 champs Keira Walsh, Ella Toone and Georgia Stanway.Regulations for
the females’s pyramid state that any club which withdraws from a league can only re‑enter at least two tiers lower. Precedent was set when Checking out were relegated to the 5th tier of English football ahead of the 2024-25 season after financial uncertainty and the collapse
of an 11th-hour takeover bid.If relegated, Blackburn would be the second club in 2 seasons to be demoted from the Championship due to the fact that of monetary concerns.Advertisement Last summer, Blackburn faced intense criticism after it was reported their women’s team’s playing spending plan was constrained to simply ₤ 100,000 for next season, with their players, who are all semi-professional, getting wages of ₤ 9,000. Rovers finished second from bottom in the Championship, rebranded as WSL2 for the 2025-26 season, ahead of relegated Sheffield
United.It is uncertain
whether Sheffield United would be allowed to stay in the Champion next season if Rovers are relegated.Earlier this month, Wolverhampton Wanderers, who complete in English football’s 3rd tier, were heavily criticised after failing to obtain tier-two status regardless of
the group coming within touching distance of promo. On Monday, the club promised to apply for the status next year after holding a conference with the Wolves Women
hierarchy last week.Advertisement The news comes simply a day after the WSL revealed its rebrand of the leading two departments in English females’s football and brand-new visual identity.This article originally appeared in The Athletic.Blackburn Rovers, UK Women’s Football 2025 The Athletic Media Business