Liverpool Women have been relegated from the Women’s Super League (WSL) this season after an announcement today confirmed that a points-per-game system would be used to determine the final standings.
Liverpool were bottom of the table, occupying the only relegation spot, having picked up just six points all season - one win and three draws.
The Reds have only scored six times in the WSL and Birmingham City, who were a point ahead of them in the league table, had played a game fewer.
But there could be even greater concern for the team going forward.
According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, many WSL clubs, including Liverpool, could go out of business thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Even before football was halted, many were in a difficult place financially, with television rights and gate numbers far lower than in the men’s game.
Maguire told a special Blood Red podcast: "At present, an analogy of WSL and women’s football in the UK is that there are similarities between the England cricket team and county cricket.
"The national team is able to generate significant levels of support, but on individual club level, that’s more of a struggle.
"I’ve got copies of all the finances of all of the WSL clubs and they’re all losing between a million to a million-and-a-half a year.
"In the context of the Premier League, which brings in £5 billion each year, those numbers are not huge, but if you are a CEO and you are looking to make cost savings, I’m genuinely concerned about the future of the WSL and the clubs associated with it.
"If they were not making money pre-pandemic, clearly it’s going to take a lot of time for them to come back.
"They will be more at risk from getting that continued support and funding from the parent club itself."
