Column: Wolves Women are seven games from history - Wolverhampton must get behind them

My first football memory is standing on the touchline at Castlecroft watching Wolverhampton Wanderers train in the 1970s. I couldn’t have been more than three years old, sitting proudly on my dad’s shoulders on a warm sunny afternoon, watching the players run past me and onto the pitch.

That was the moment that my long (and at times torturous) journey as a Wolves supporter began.

But as a girl growing up in Wolverhampton in the 1970s and 80s, loving football and playing football were two very different things.

Because girls weren’t supposed to play.

The FA ban on women playing football was only lifted in 1971. It’s hard to believe now, but only 55 years ago women were not allowed to play the ‘beautiful game’.

I was sporty growing up (as my fabulous PE teacher Mrs Mirza would hopefully agree!). I represented my school in netball, hockey and athletics. But we couldn’t play football.  At the time we didn’t question it. That was simply the norm but looking back, it feels absurd.

Of course, I still played football with the kids on my street after school and at weekends. But when it came to supporting a team, it was always the men’s game we followed.

Fast forward to 2026 and I’m still a Wolves supporter and like many of you reading this, I’ve experienced the highs and lows that come with supporting this club.

But now I also proudly support Wolves Women.

The women’s game has changed beyond recognition since my school days. Today, more than 90 per cent of schools offer football to girls, and women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. England’s Lionesses have become European champions and household names.

Meanwhile, Wolves Women have been quietly blazing a trail for far longer than many people realise as they started out in 1975. Currently competing in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, Wolves Women have come agonisingly close to promotion to the second tier of women’s football (now WSL 2) in each of the past three seasons under brilliant manager Dan McNamara.

What makes their achievements even more remarkable is that the squad is made up of part-time players. While many rival teams are fully professional, Wolves players balance football with careers. We have teachers, physiotherapists and accountants in the current squad and yet, they continue to push professional teams all the way.

Last season was particularly tough. After coming agonisingly close to promotion in recent years, Wolves missed out again, finishing second to a fully professional Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season. But after the match the players were told that even if they had won the league, the club hadn’t submitted the paperwork required to secure promotion to WSL 2.

The disappointment was understandably huge and the fallout played out publicly across media and social platforms. The then CEO of Wolves, Jeff Shi, apologised to the team and gave a public commitment to support them going forward.

The team showed extraordinary resilience, picking themselves up and went again, and have not lost a league match since September 2024.

Now they find themselves just seven games away from promotion.

Currently second in the table, Wolves sit just one point behind another fully professional side, Burnley, and crucially they have a game in hand. This season, with the expansion of the women’s pyramid, three teams from the third tier will go up: the winners of the Southern and Northern sections of the league, plus the winners of a play-off between the two second-place teams. 

One of Wolves' remaining games is a huge clash away at Turf Moor against Burnley on 15 March (the club have put on a free coach to get supporters there). Before that, Wolves face Derby this Sunday in Telford following an impressive 3-0 victory away at Middlesbrough last weekend.

This fantastic team and coaching staff are within touching distance of history.

But they need Wolverhampton behind them.

As we heard on Tuesday night, the atmosphere at Molineux when Wolves men play well is something special. Imagine bringing even a fraction of that noise and passion to the SEAH Stadium in Telford, the ground the women proudly call home?

Supporting Wolves Women isn’t about choosing one team over the other. We are one club, and we want both our men’s and women’s teams competing at the highest level - in the Premier League (still hoping) and the Women’s Super League.

Women’s matches also offer something different. They are welcoming, family-friendly occasions where supporters can enjoy the game without the hostility that can sometimes accompany the men’s game. After the final whistle, players stay behind to sign autographs and take photos with supporters making it extra special.

For young girls in Wolverhampton, seeing that matters. I know it would have meant the world to me. Why can’t girls have permission to dream of becoming professional footballers for our local club?

Wolverhampton Wanderers is a cornerstone of the city – embedded in communities, creating opportunities and changing lives through the Wolves Foundation.

When Wolves succeed, the whole city feels it and the sense of pride is palpable.

But a club with Wolves’ history should also have its women’s team competing at the top level. Seeing Wolves Women succeed shows girls something powerful - that football in this city belongs to them too.

Because not that long ago, girls like me didn’t even get the chance to try. We watched from the sidelines, kicked a ball around on the street if we were lucky and accepted that football simply wasn’t for us. Today’s generation should never have to feel that the game they love isn’t open to them.

I now have a daughter of my own and supporting Wolves Women comes as naturally to her as it does to my son.

Current attendances are around 600, if we can reach over 1,000 for the remaining home games this season, we will be giving this remarkable team the backing they deserve and help build momentum for the future.

Because this team has earned that support. They have fought for it. They have sacrificed for it. And they are now just seven games away from history.

Supporting Wolves Women isn’t just about football. It’s about giving the next generation of girls in Wolverhampton - YOUR family, YOUR friends, YOUR community - the opportunities previous generations never had.

And for the women who were never given the chance to play between 1921 and 1971 - we owe them that much.

Tickets for Wolves Women matches can be purchased at wolves.co.uk/tickets-hospitality.