Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has plunged himself into more hot water after sensational comments lobbying for a closed Women’s Super League emerged over the weekend.
The future of the English women’s top-flight is at a crossroads, with the FA’s jurisdiction over the elite competition set to be replaced by an independently-run company after the next year. Two separate reviews of the sport – spurred on by the Lionesses’ triumphant Euro2022 campaign and a steep wave of enthusiasm around the sport – are being conducted by the Government and other clubs respectively.
And Levy has expressed his support for the scrapping of promotion and relegation from the women’s top-flight in a bid to encourage more clubs to invest in their women’s teams. The chairman’s argument hinges on the idea that investment in players and infrastructure would increase if club hierarchies were not concerned by the threat of relegation.
The comments arrive as Spurs' women's team have slipped into a shock relegation battle after a disastrous season in which they’ve lost seven of their last nine WSL matches, claiming only one win since the turn of the calendar year.
Long-time manager Rehanne Skinner was dismissed last month due to the dramatic drop in form, with assistant coach Vicky Jepson stepping in as interim manager. Spurs currently sit ninth in the league table, three points off bottom-of-the-table Leicester having played a game more.
Levy, a founding member of the failed European Super League venture in 2021, has been a heady proponent for the financial allure of a closed-shop model in sport, but his sentiments are not in isolation.
According to the Daily Mail, Levy is one of several top executives interested in exploring the option, along with other notable figures in the women’s game, including former Lioness Karen Carney and Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, the latter of whom found herself the subject of heavy censure earlier this year after expressing her openness to a single-table franchise model, similar to that used in the American National Women’s Super League.
Relegation and promotion have been part of the WSL fabric since 2014. After a dramatic promotion race in the Championship, Bristol City Women confirmed their return to the top-flight after their 4-0 victory over Charlton Athletic. The return ends a two-year existence outside the WSL.
Spurs have just four matches remaining to secure WSL survival, with three of their final matches arriving against lower-table opposition.
The women's team is not the only entity at Spurs striking an ostensible nadir under Levy. Levy took responsibility for Spurs men's demise this season following the dismissal of caretaker boss Cristian Stellini after the 6-1 defeat to Newcastle on Sunday. Stellini only managed four games with just the one win coming.
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