Club Outlines Plan To Professionalise Women's Team

Burnley Football Club outlines long-term intention to professionalise women’s football

Affiliated club Burnley FC Women to be amalgamated with Burnley FC, benefiting from greater integration with the men’s first team and shared use of facilities

Club Chairman Alan Pace targets promotion to the FA Women’s Championship by 2025

Burnley Football Club is proud to announce that Burnley FC Women and its operations will be fully integrated into the football club, as part of a long-term strategy to boost women’s football.

The entire Burnley FC Women operation will be incorporated into the club with immediate effect, during the current temporary suspension of the 2020/21 leagues due to Covid-19.The move is the first step towards the long-term aim of making Burnley FC Women a fully professional team.

Burnley FC Women and the wider youth operations will come under football club operations, with the aim of increasing the team’s presence, infrastructure, and investment.

The day-to-day running of Burnley FC Women will move away from Burnley FC in the Community and become its own entity, operated as part of the club.

Major investment, including the creation of a Women’s Academy, is planned to move the women’s team to the next level, following unprecedented back-to-back promotions into the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division; the third tier of women’s football.

The team will, in future, share the club’s Barnfield Training Centre facilities with their male counterparts and will seek new partners on an international scale, with the aim of improving every level of Burnley FC Women and its wider operations.

Plans for a Women’s Academy also seek to provide a professional environment for young female players and establish Burnley as a hotbed for future talent in the women’s game.

Alan Pace, Chairman of Burnley FC, said: “The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup was arguably a turning point for the women’s game, attracting new fans and inspiring men and women all over the world to see football in a new light.

"The global pandemic has since had a huge impact on women’s football, but I believe it has a major role to play in the sport’s future growth, bringing in new audiences and demographics.

“Burnley FC is an inclusive club for all and today’s announcement signals our intent to put women’s football at the very heart of it.

"Over the coming seasons we will fully support and invest in our new women’s football strategy, with the ambition to gain promotion to the FA Women’s Championship within four years and ultimately become a full-time professional outfit.”

Neil Hart, CEO of Burnley FC, added: “I would like to personally thank Burnley FC in the Community for all their hard work so far.

"I see this as a huge opportunity to move BFC Women forward and we will be supporting women’s manager Matt Bee and the players to do this.

"I am looking forward to rekindling my involvement with BFC Women and their full integration into the day-to-day operations of Burnley FC”.

Matt Bee, Manager of Burnley FC Women, said: “Today’s announcement is exciting for all aspirational young footballers in Burnley, with the club demonstrating real ambition within the women’s game and a commitment to invest in infrastructure and development over the coming seasons.

"This is an exciting time for Burnley FC Women, and I can’t wait to work closely with Alan Pace, the ALK Capital team and Neil Hart to once again build on the fantastic success we’ve had in recent seasons when football can fully resume.”