A moment of silence for those women’s clubs who are no more

On the day that CD Tacon officially becomes Real Madrid, FFC Frankfurt becomes Eintracht Frankfurt and even USV Jena starts out its new life as Carl Zeiss Jena, it’s perfectly normal to have mixed feelings. Established men’s teams buying out the licenses of independent women’s sides isn’t a new thing, yet there is always a sense of sorrow, of something that was ceasing to exist.

For some fans a merger or a buy-out, won’t changer their love for the team who they’ll still view as the same just with a different name and kit. For others, it takes time to adjust as others will never be able to convince their hearts to accept the “new” team. Even though these moves aren’t as extreme as the type of franchise moves we see in the USA, where teams completely up sticks and move states, there is the sense of loss.

There is an identity to be found in supporting a football team, a community to become part of if you wish. And depending on the club you were and the club you become, that community can be lost. For CD Tacon, a young club that rose up to the Spanish top flight in little to no time, the official shift over to Real Madrid is likely to see a swell in fan numbers as Madridistas welcome the new part of them club. Yet for FFC Frankfurt, one of the most successful teams in European women’s football history, it feels like the club is losing a part of itself.

As women’s football marches on, happily laying down more professional roots around the world, we can expect to see more independent teams being squeezed out. Either to be bought out by men’s team who lack a suitable women’s arm or simply as teams that don’t have the financial clout to compete with those in the higher echelons of the men’s game.

Although I’ve only been in women’s football for five years, there has always been a sense of regret about the inevitable loss of clubs as it will often be the pioneers. Those around who put in the hours and love to grow women’s football, those who respect and believe in it wholeheartedly. Women’s football runs on that honest-to-goodness passion, from volunteers to fans to players (and their long-suffering taxi services, err, parents). Women’s football would be nowhere without those who went before, who soldiered on in miserable weather in front of dismal crowds, bearing the dismissive scorn.

The future of the sport is a professional one, one with the Real Madrid’s, Manchester United’s and even the Borussia Dortmund’s (one day at least). Clubs that invest for various reasons: good PR? Having their hands forced? Regulations from their federations? Or the actual desire to have a women’s team that prospers? Maybe a little of everything, maybe not.

In all the ruckus of having football clubs that are more brands than teams involved to increase the viewership and investment, let us not forget about those who went before.