Why are Forest Green Rovers scrapping their women’s team?

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Can a football club call itself progressive if its commitment to gender equality appears disposable? Subscribe to Guardian Football ► https://www.youtube.com/@guardianfootball?sub_confirmation=1 Forest Green Rovers – recognised by Fifa as the world’s greenest football club in 2018 – have announced they will not field a women’s team this coming season. Despite enjoying a strong campaign – where the Gloucestershire club’s women’s side finished second in their regional division in the fifth tier of the English pyramid last term, lost just one match in their league and missed out on promotion by a point – the club has scrapped its women’s team for 2026-27. So what’s behind the decision? Forest Green Rovers say “this isn’t goodbye” to women’s football and that they would “like it to return” in the future, but that their primary goal is to ensure their men’s team returns to League Two as soon as possible. Their men’s side were relegated to the National League in 2024. With the Women’s World Cup coming up next year, the global game is booming. But what happens to the sport when the vital competitive pathways just below the elite level are treated as dispensable? What do you think? Is it fair to make a short-term sacrifice or does this expose a double standard in the game? #forestgreenrovers #forestgreen #womensfootball #mensfootball #football