Reading 'request to withdraw from Women's Championship and aim to play in fifth tier' after bid to takeover women's arm of the club fell through

Reading 'request to withdraw from Women's Championship'

• Reading have requested to withdraw from the Women's Championship
• A late bid to take over the women's arm of the club proved unsuccessful
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Reading have requested to withdraw from the Women's Championship.

As reported by The Guardian, Reading made the request after a late bid to take over the women' arm of the club fell through.

The report states that Reading's entire women's and girls' programme could soon be closed down.

Reading are now reportedly aiming to apply for a place in the fifth tier of the women's pyramid.

In such a scenario, Reading would be playing near-grassroots level football.

Redundancies now seem likely, with many staff members having faced an anxious wait over their futures.

Multiple age groups at the club have been told that they will not be continuing.

A consortium of UK-based and American investors had looked to save the women's arm of the club but ultimately proved to be unsuccessful.

Mary Earps and Fran Kirby are amongst the stars to have previously played for Reading.

The Royals were relegated from the WSL at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, having previously achieved a fourth-placed finish in 2017-18.