The SWPL reached some far flung places this week as a London-based broadsheet broke news of the possibility of Celtic and Rangers heading to a newly reformatted Women’s Super League in England.
Picked up by all sorts of media outlets, the story was reported as far afield as New York while being extensively quoted both north and south of the border.
Whatever conversations have been had with Nikki Doucet, the new chief executive of the Women’s Professional League, there is no doubt that the politics around such a possibility would made a few folk a little jumpy.
If it sounds titillating to a chief executive who will have a keen eye on commercial television deals to attract the kind of investment that women’s football needs – and the brand name of Celtic and Rangers will always carry swagger in that respect – the reality is that turkeys don’t vote for Christmas.
For one, the closed league format that has been floated would essentially mean a locked in league for those involved from the outset. With no relegation, there would be no fluidity within the league.
It was unsurprising, then, to read Brian Sorensen, the Everton women’s manager, remark that it was not a move he would welcome. Equally, Sonia Bompastor’s remarks that the move would be good for England and not so good for Scottish football was the fairly obvious take on the tale.
Last May this newspaper reported that ‘informal discussions, nothing more than exploratory chats, have been held with the (English) Women's Super League about the possibility of Rangers Women's Football Club joining,’ when freelance sports writer Henry Winter offered an overview ahead of a looming Old Firm game.
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Whether things have crystalised in the months that have passed since then or whether this has been a strictly hypothetical discussion amounting to little more than a whimsical exploration will remain to be seen.
From commercial perspectives and with a new chief exec on board to oversee such deals it is entirely plausible to see why it would be up for discussion south of the border.
Taking it any further than that would seem massively unlikely at a time when the SWPL is determined to maximise the return on a league that is still striving for full professionalism.
Celtic and Rangers are big fish in the women’s game because of the brand created in the men’s game. Neither can yet claim to have fully asserted themselves on the women’s scene with interest still firmly in the lukewarm camp from both supporters’ bases.
Even with a recent Champions League campaign and off the back of a season in which Celtic won the title for the first time in their history, attendances struggle to hit any notable heights.
There is also the small matter that Glasgow City, far and away the dominant team in the country across the last decade and beyond, currently sit very firmly at the top of the SWPL.
Something else for consideration in this conversation; both Celtic and Rangers sit on the SWPL board. They have it within their remit to be part of a conversation that could empower clubs in the bottom half of the table to move towards professional contracts, a first step that would go a long way to addressing the stark imbalance in the SWPL at the top and bottom end of the table.
AND ANOTHER THING
The announcement this week that Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan will join Mark Chapman as the new Match of Day presenters from next season as Gary Linekar prepares to stand down was met with a fairly predictable response on social media platforms this week.
Logan, who grew up around football as the daughter of the Welsh captain, has more than two decades worth of broadcasting experience.
Cates, daughter of Kenny Dalglish had a similar upbringing and also has more than 20 years of broadcasting experience.
Two of the best broadcasters around, they more than deserve a platform that they have fully secured on merit rather than on any box-ticking exercise as some would have you believe.
AND FINALLY
Celtic and Rangers go head-to-head this afternoon as they fight it out for a place in the League Cup final in March.
Elena Sadiku has not got the best of Jo Potter in the last four meeting between the sides.
Sadiku, just over a year into the job, played and lost to Rangers at this stage of the competition 12 months ago in her very first game in charge of the club but went on to have the last laugh last season as she led Celtic to their first ever league title.
With both teams knowing they need to bank silverware this season, there will be a degree of intrigue around this one this afternoon at New Douglas Park.
The last time the teams met in a Cup tie was at Hampden last April at the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup with Sadiku irked that her side never got going at all.
Rangers have dropped league points of late to Glasgow City and to Hibs so there will be some intrigue to see how both cope with the pressure of this one.
