In the concluding weeks of the season, the emotions of players, managers and staff dominate our thoughts — especially when, as was the case in April, the WSL title race was so wide open. We spend considerably less time thinking about those at the Football Association who are responsible for planning it all. What happens when more than one team could lift the trophy on the last day?
On Saturday, Chelsea or Manchester United could have won the title. In the end, it was Chelsea, and in lots of ways their doing so felt inevitable given the result was in their control and they played a Reading team that would be relegated by the end of the day. United needed Chelsea to slip up and Emma Hayes’ side never did, finishing with a record points total and two points clear of their rivals.
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But the FA’s Heather Cowan, head of women’s league operations, and Tessa Cowan, women’s league manager for the professional game, had to plan for every outcome. At Prenton Park, where Manchester United played Liverpool, they had as many marketing and operations staff as they had attending Chelsea’s game at Reading. “It’s everything twice,” says Heather. “All those people are there ready to assemble everything at a moment’s…
