Southampton Women’s FC are sad to announce that we will be postponing Sunday’s league opener against Moneyfields Women in the FA Women’s National League Division One South West. We make this decision in line with our FAWNL friends at Halifax FC Women. The decision has come due to the clash with the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final which the England Women’s National Team have reached for the first time.

Following the FAWNL’s statement on 17/08/2023 discussions were held with our opposition, but no agreement was reached. Unfortunately, our new home venue cannot accommodate a delayed kick-off which took that option off the table. Additionally, we have received confirmation that Test Park will now be unable to show the final ahead of our scheduled league fixture due to various technical issues making it more difficult for us as the home club to make the day special for everyone involved.

The Sirens have enjoyed a good pre-season and were excited to get the season up and running at our new ground, with a new manager and a new look however, the World Cup presents a historical moment in the women’s game that we all do not wish to miss. We have players and staff who have worked tirelessly for years to improve the game in the hope of seeing moments like this only for them to potentially miss it because of the decision to start the season on August 20th, as well as the next generation having to choose between the two.

We have come to this difficult conclusion after consulting with our players, staff and committee members who made a unanimous call.

The heartbeat of women’s football deserves to watch and fully experience the day on Sunday regardless of the result. Our difficult decision has been confirmed with our opponents and to the league so we will now wait to hear what will happen next.

We will make no further comments at this time.