We have put together a strong and attractive Super League bid, says Gills chairman Martin Andrews

The Football Association has today announced the teams that have submitted bids to become part of the expanded Women’s Super League from 2014.


Gillingham Ladies – who are presently in sixth-place in the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division and are independently run from the League Two club – are in good company as one of 33 teams that submitted their application on Monday morning ahead of the 4pm deadline, with chairman Martin Andrews personally hand delivering the documentation.

It is the culmination of months of hard work for Mr Andrews especially and Chris Dicketts (vice-chairman) who have had to put together a bid that takes into account a number of key areas including finances, commercial and marketing plans, community programmes, facilities, youth development and much more.

In a statement, which was published on the club’s website, Mr Andrews spoke about the club’s Super League submission.

He said:  “It has taken many months since the FA announced the expanded Women’s Super League to get to this position, and I can tell you that it has been hard work putting it all together in those months.

“We have put together what Chris and I feel is a strong and attractive bid, and we can now only wait and see whether it meets the FA’s strict requirements. I would like to wish everyone who has submitted a bid the best of luck.”

The FA is now unlikely to make any further comment on the Women’s Super League application process until the successful clubs are announced in early June.

The full list of clubs bidding for a Women’s Super League licence is:

Arsenal Ladies FC
Aston Villa Ladies FC
Birmingham City Ladies FC
Brighton and Hove Albion Women's FC
Bristol Academy WFC
Charlton Athletic Women's FC
Chelsea Ladies FC
Colchester United Ladies FC
Coventry City Ladies FC
Derby County Ladies FC
Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies FC
Durham Women's FC
Everton Ladies FC
Gillingham Ladies FC
Keynsham Town LFC
Leeds United Ladies FC
Leicester City Women's FC
Lincoln Ladies FC
Liverpool Ladies FC
London Bees WFC (Barnet FC)
Manchester City Ladies FC
Millwall Lionesses Ladies FC
Milton Keynes Dons Ladies FC
Nottingham Forest Ladies FC
Oxford United Ladies WFC
Portsmouth FC Ladies
Reading FC Women
Sheffield United Ladies FC
Stoke City Ladies FC
Sunderland Women's FC
Watford Ladies FC
West Ham United LFC
Yeovil Town Ladies FC

Visit Gillngham Ladies’ website: www.clubwebsite.co.uk/gillinghamladies