Sheffield United Ladies granted Women's Super League place

United have been accepted along with the newly re-formed Manchester United Women plus Leicester City Women and Lewes FC Women.

It means there will be three South Yorkshire sides in women’s football’s 12-team second tier with Sheffield FC Ladies and newly-crowned champions Doncaster Rovers Belles already established in the division.

Charlton Athletic Women will also enter FAWSL2 after beating Blackburn Rovers in the Women’s Premier League Championship play-off final at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

The acceptance of Carla Ward’s United side comes as part of another restructuring of the women’s game in England with top tier FAWSL1 going full time from the start of next season.

Ward said: “This is a momentous day for Sheffield United. There’s total commitment, right at the highest level of the club, to get to where we want to be.

“That’s great to see and now, thanks to a successful bid, we have a busy summer ahead as we prepare to make our mark on the FA Women’s Championship.”

United Ladies’ general manager, Lee Walshaw, added: “We’ve been planning for this for the past eighteen months and now we have the green light we can begin to roll out our plans. We are ready to go, we can begin straight away. Everything is set and in place.

“Carla has played in the FA Women’s Super League, she has contacts and relationships and now it is a case of pulling everything together ahead of kicking off in the new league in September.”