Senior figures at Wolves will meet their women’s team on Thursday night after it emerged the club never applied for a licence to apply for promotion to the Championship.
Wolves finished second in the Premier Division North, missing out on top spot and promotion to the second tier by three points. Nottingham Forest were ultimately promoted to the Women’s Championship.
The players, however, were dismayed to find out just before their final game that their promotion challenge would be futile as the club never completed the paperwork needed to satisfy WPLL requirements to play in the division above.
Sky Sports News understands Wolves chairman Jeff Shi was unhappy with the terms that came with the licence structure, which include funding, player contracts, commercial and medical requirements.
Meeting those targets would have meant a vast increase in funding, something which would have been difficult to agree to considering the paperwork had to be completed in February when Wolves’ future Premier League status was questionable.
Wolves players will meet with sporting director Matt Hobbs and director of professional development Matt Jackson to air their grievances and seek guarantees of future backing.
After the news emerged, a number of players took to social media to vent their frustrations. Midfielder Beth Merrick wrote on X: “Imagine fighting for promotion all season, to find out our Championship bid was never submitted.
“As a group we are absolutely devastated to finish the season this way and believe it speaks volumes about the club’s ambitions for the women’s team.
“For our staff to have to deliver this news to us moments after is astonishing.
“Our players, staff and fans deserve so much better. The staff have put in hours of dedication, for a bid to never be submitted. It’s not about money, it’s about honesty and transparency.”
Lily Simkin added on social media: “We feel let down… We took it to the last day to find out it would have all been for nothing anyway. We deserve better.”
Abbi Jenner, who was at Wolves on a dual registration from Championship title-chasers Birmingham City, wrote: “Absolutely gutting.”
