Charlton women pay the price for relegation.

The Charlton Athletic womens football team is set to be closed in a cost saving exercise.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 233506.stm

Once again it shows the lack of poularity for the womens game in the UK. Until clubs can be self sufficient then they will just be a luxury for teams to have as a PR stunt. Given that there are 92 professional league clubs and 1000's of semi-pro mens clubs the market is saturated. The standard of football in the conference is higher than the womens prem so they are never likely to attract support outside of family and friends.

This leads to a question. Assuming that womens (and mixed?) football is popular in the US, will the increase in popularity of MLS have a significant detrimental effect on the womens game? Is there room for both?

 

I think they need to come up with their own clubs and start from the ground up using grass roots fans and games. I was a bit disgusted to learn they basically rode on their male counterparts' coat tails.

If there is ever to be a somewhat serious women's league in the UK, they need to have a seperate infrastructure. NOT just hanging out when the guys are out of town.

 

I think they all miss the point... US included.

The women's league{s} should be international. Yeah it would make for some scheduling headaches and high travel expenses, but really... it isnt that much more to fly from NY to england or france on a charter than across the country. And FIFA would be wise to make a whole new set of eligibility rules, much like MLS has, to allow it.

 

Exactly the point ... international matches get better ratings because of the nationalist competitive interest..
Suppose there were 4 teams in US, two in England, 1 or 2 in Sweden, 2 in Germany, 2 in Brazil.

 

Actually the USwomen have suffered considerably in recent times. The stars of the world cup victories are long gone and the crowds at recent games have been brutal. I don't think you really even say that the women's game is still popular here. Nothing approaching the popularity the men's game is now enjoying.

Personally I feel some sports translate well to the women's version and others do not. I find women's basketball, golf, and tennis are good to watch. Hockey and soccer are NOT.