• Club may volunteer to be relegated
• Spokesman: ‘It’s not fair on the girls’
In what would be one of footballing history’s most unusual relegations, geography will be the determining factor if Reading, at their own request, lose Premier League status at the end of the season.
A geographic imbalance of teams in the league’s two regional divisions has meant that the Royals, following their promotion from the South West Combination last year, have had to play in the Northern rather than Southern Division. That has meant travelling a total of 3,881 miles to fulfil fixtures against opponents including Newcastle United, Sunderland, Preston North End and Tranmere Rovers. And though Reading, who are set to finish sixth, get solid support from their Championship parent club, they are reluctant to continue the expensive and time-consuming itinerary for their amateur women’s team.
Like the Premier League’s other clubs, Reading get financial assistance from the Football Association, which provides a 50p per mile travel allowance (after the first 150 miles) and £150 towards the cost of overnight accommodation.
Reading’s spokesman, Andy West, said: “The cash from the FA is nowhere near enough to cover our costs and in any case, it’s not fair on the girls. They work or study full-time and shouldn’t be expected to have to travel to places like Newcastle and back on a Sunday. The situation is not sustainable and unless something can be worked out with the FA we may have to volunteer to be relegated.”
The FA, which administers the Premier League, is sympathetic to Reading’s cause. But, as the league’s secretary, Tessa Hayward, points out, there are clubs who have greater travel demands than the Royals. The Southern Division teams Cardiff City and Truro City cover 4,004 and 6,357 miles respectively for away games.
“There are an amazing amount of mileages covered and a huge commitment given by the clubs,” she said, “but if you want to compete at this level that’s part of the price you have to pay.”
Reading were not in action yesterday, when there were two Northern Division games and three in the top flight, in which third-in-the-table Chelsea beat Nottingham Forest 5–1 and there were 3–1 wins for Bristol Academy against Blackburn Rovers and Doncaster Belles against Birmingham City, a victory by which they leapfrogged their opponents into fourth place.