In charge:Baroness Sue Campbell and Mark Bullingham, CEO of The FA
(Picture: Getty Images)Baroness Sue Campbell, the FA director of women’s football, believes the organisation needs to think carefully about selling the Women’s Super League as they continue to grow the women’s game.
Private equity firms have previously shown an interest in the WSL and that is likely to increase in the wake of England winning Euro 2022.
Campbell revealed earlier this year the FA have plans to establish a company which will run the WSL for at least three years from January 2023.
The company, which has been described by the FA as a “subsidiary” of the organisation, would oversee both the WSL and Women's Championship.
That would allow the WSL to grow steadily, with recent reports revealing bids of £150million from private equity firms have been rejected.
“I think the balance for us though, is ... we absolutely want the league to be run independently of us,” said Campbell.
“We don’t want the head to leave the body. We don’t want the two professional leagues to disappear down the road and leave the rest behind.
“So I think we need a period of transition where we’re moving in that direction, but we don’t just tip it out the door and it's not what we want to do because the women’s game is different.
“The mountain is whole, we don’t just want the peak whipped away.
“I hope the demand is such that we have to put things in the bigger stadiums, but what you don't want is a huge stadium with 4,000 people in it, that has a very different feel to it. So you are better to have a smaller stadium full than a big stadium a quarter full.”
