New teams Juve and Port Vale, but...

[sbahnhof]

A few small victories in the growth of women's football: Juventus will have a women's team next year.

- http://www.isportconnect.com/juventus-women-football-serie-a/

They'll be only the second Serie A men's club to have an affiliated Serie A women's club. Juve are going to be fast-tracked to the top division, although it's still unclear how the 2017/18 league will look. Ex-international player Rita Guarino will become manager, and they'll go up against Fiorentina, the top Italian women's club. One of the Fiorentina board has given his club credit for speeding Juventus along to create a women's side.



In England, Port Vale's club trust are starting women's and girls teams:

- http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/port-vale-to-launch-women-s-and-girls-teams-after-earning-funding/story-30390369-detail/story.html

The funding follows some successful female football community programs run by the trust previously.



On the downside, Real Madrid aren't ready to set up a women's senior team. Despite some excited media reports that Real would join the Liga Iberdrola, Spain's top division, the club is only planning to run female youth teams for the time being.

- http://en.as.com/en/2017/03/30/football/1490862971_831658.html

Real's president reiterated this week that they would only have girls' junior teams for training purposes. Presumably that would lead to a full senior team at some point. But the lack of promises seems like a cop-out – Real clearly want to compete with their rivals, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, who are dominating the women's league and have genuinely popular teams. But Real don't want to be compared with them too much?



So, what about the Man United problem? Not to give them too much attention. At this point in England, having no women's team at all, nor any plans for one, is probably worse for your business than spending a bit of money on a women's team, even if they're just in the regional league.

Rachel Brown-Finnis's criticism of Man Utd this week has added to what others elsewhere have pointed out. How long will they let the negative publicity build, as well as letting talented footballers go to their near rivals?

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[Aphrodites Child]

Port Vale did have a women's team in FAWPL - the former Newcastle (Town?) who were embraced by Port Vale towards the end of their one season in the FAWPL, but because of relegation I am unable to state what happened next

[sbahnhof]

Port Vale did have a women's team in FAWPL - the former Newcastle (Town?) who were embraced by Port Vale towards the end of their one season in the FAWPL, but because of relegation I am unable to state what happened next

Good lord you're right.

I couldn't find out the final fate of the team - Newcastle Town went up in 1999/2000 to the WPL Northern Division, then back down in 2000/01 when Port Vale took over.

Apparently, their only full season as Port Vale (in the Midland Combination League 2001/02) was a bad one: "Port Vale, Derby County and Stafford Rangers were in difficulty ... a Port Vale equaliser in the 6th minute of injury time at Derby County consigned both clubs to relegation, so the only happy spectators were the ones from Stafford!" That should have sent Port Vale down again, to the West Midland Regional League, but they aren't listed for 2002/03, and the division shrunk by one team.

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