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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Juliet Nottingham

Women’s football in England enters NewCo era amid promise and risk

Emma Thompson of Southampton FC celebrates scoring her team's first goal against Lewes in March with teammate Ella Morris
Southampton’s Emma Thompson celebrates after scoring against Lewes last month in a match between sides of contrasting resources. Photograph: Steve Bardens/The FA/Getty Images

“It’s like a start-up tech company in Silicon Valley,” says Baroness Sue Campbell, recalling Michele Kang’s description of NewCo, the independent company that will take over running the Women’s Super League and Championship from next season.

It is the start-up that drew Kang, one of the most recognisable businesswomen in women’s football, with a portfolio including ownership of Washington Spirit and a majority share in Lyon, to acquire London City Lionesses, who sit mid-table in the second tier of English football. That is the same independent club whose players, at the end of last season, warned the previous owner, Diane Culligan, the “very existence” of the side would be under threat without more investment.

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