Interviews with 16 interested counties to take place next weekKey figures from women’s football to be part of ECB’s process
Interviews to decide which of the 18 first-class counties will host professional women’s teams from 2025 will begin next week at Lord’s and will involve Kelly Simmons, former director of the women’s professional game at the Football Assocation, and Maggie Murphy, the chief executive of Lewes FC, the Guardian can reveal.
The tender process to host one of the eight new professional “Tier 1” women’s teams closed on 11 March. Applications will now be judged by a panel made up of Ebony Rainford-Brent and Neil Snowball from the England and Wales Cricket Board, plus Murphy and Simmons. Bringing in external people to judge bids is highly unusual for the ECB, but it is felt that involving two heavyweights of equity in women’s football will add enhanced scrutiny and credibility to the process. Lewes is the only football club in the world to offer equal pay to men and women players.