By Eloise Smallbone (13/08/2025)
Above: the FAWNL strategy ‘where our game grows’. Photo: The FA website.
Today, the FA Women’s National League (FAWNL) have announced a new strategy, titled ‘Where Our Game Grows’, aiming to take the third tier of English women’s football to the next level.
The strategy is intended to shape the future and direction of the league between 2025 and 2028. The FA WNL has outlined four key priority areas: environment, people, impact and commercial. ‘Where Our Game Grows’ is supported with investment from the Premier League and the aim is to further the development of both the FA WNL and the wider women’s football pyramid.
The league has previously had a strategy called ‘Empowering for Success’, which provided strong foundations for ‘Where Our Game Grows’. ‘Empowering for Success’ helped contribute to a 100% increase in average match attendances since 2021 and minimum standards were also introduced across the league.
Speaking on the new strategy, Sue Hough, Chair of the FA Women’s National League Board, said:
“We saw sustained growth throughout the previous strategy but now it’s time to step things up as we look to grow the profile and reach of the league and leverage the commercial opportunities within the women’s game. The Women’s National League is ‘Where Our Game Grows’- it’s the connection between the professional game and our grassroots players. Over the next three years we will ensure we offer our people, both on and off the pitch, the best environments to enable them and the league to thrive.”
As Hough highlighted, a key element of ‘Where Our Game Grows’ is that it is the next development from the league’s previous strategy. The FA WNL have considered the progress already, and looked at specific ways to sustain the league’s development. This involves four key priority areas. Within these priority areas, there are five threads which weave through each of them: diversity and inclusion, facilities, female health and wellbeing, safeguarding, and technology and data.
The first priority area is environment. There will be a focus on propelling club standards, protecting and enhancing positive culture and behaviour, and enhancing league delivery, with the aim to elevate the football environment overall. The second priority is people. The league goal is to establish a system where players, referees, coaches and club staff are all supported in achieving their goals, and they also have access to the best facilities.
Impact is the third strategic priority for the FA WNL, and they aim to build visibility, leverage the power of community to grow the league’s profile, as well as engaging diverse audiences. In general, there will be a focus on raising the profile of the WNL, through innovative storytelling, supporting clubs to become the heart of their communities, and finally, influencing and educating key football stakeholders to support the growth of the league. The final area is commercial: the FA WNL are aiming to increase their sustainability, by elevating commercial focus and collaborating with partners and clubs.
Nick Frith, Head of the Women’s Football Pyramid at the FA, said:
“We are to proud to be launching ‘Where our Game Grows’, a new strategy and roadmap that will shape the future of our league. The next three years will be about driving forward a series of initiatives that raise standards on and off the pitch. From enhancing club governance and championing progressive pathways to building partnerships and supporting clubs to unlock new revenue streams, we are focused on building a sustainable, inclusive and innovative league.”
Frith’s comments highlight that sustainability is a key focus of the ‘Where Our Game Grows’, and that the aim is to develop the FA WNL long-term, through the different elements outlined in the strategy.
The FA WNL season officially begins on Sunday 17th August.
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