The club have sent a memorandum to the Jersey Football Association and the four football clubs in the Jersey Women’s League outlining their plans. This was followed up with a meeting for further discussion and it is understood that the memo has been positively received.
It states that the club want ‘to provide senior women with the same opportunity which is available to their male counterparts by entering a team in the National League System.’
Jersey Bulls’ women’s side would enter the system in a regional league similar to the men in the bottom tiers, with a view to playing 18 league games split evenly home and away, played on Sunday afternoons.
Like the men, home matches would be played at Springfield Stadium.
The club have also sought to allay concerns that their proposals would further compromise an already beleaguered Jersey Women’s League. The JWL has only four member teams – JTC Jersey Wanderers, Rozel Rovers, St Lawrence and Grouville. However, Bulls propose that their matches and JWL matches are played on alternate weekends to minimise any disruption. A fifth member of the JWL, Portuguese United, were forced to withdraw on the eve of the season. With fixtures already made, and little appetite to rearrange them, some teams are going over a month between games.
Bulls have confirmed that no players would be asked to leave their local clubs.
The memo also states that players would be required to train with the Bulls women’s team only 18 times during the season, on a night in the week leading up to a match.
The club hopes that by providing a women’s team it will encourage increased participation amongst girls and women in the Island that may also lead to increasing the number of teams in the JWL. They argue that ‘both Guernsey and Jersey men’s senior leagues have grown since the formation of having a national league system club. The aim is to replicate this in the female game.’
Bulls also hope that providing a clear pathway to national league competition may encourage other women to take part in the game as an alternative to other sports, arguing that ‘regular exposure to more challenging games will improve the local quality but also provide a pathway to further advancement by exposure to English clubs’ scouting network.’
The club have already been in unofficial discussions with the English Football Association about entering a team in the women’s national league system subject to consensus from the JFA and the JWL clubs. It is expected that the club would enter tier six of the system, in a regional league in and around the Gatwick and Heathrow airport areas, such as the Greater London Women’s Football League or the South East Counties Women’s League.
