Oxford United’s bid to join the Women’s Championship has been unsuccessful.
After two successful seasons in the National League and with the infrastructure in place for higher level football the club applied for one of the Championship places on offer, submitting their plans with the full backing of the Board.
However confirmation came today that the bid has not been accepted with Watford pipping the U’s to a place on PPG based on the last two seasons. Instead the side will once again compete in the National League next season.
Manager Liam Gilbert told us:
“We will never know what might have happened if the season had ended on the pitch: we were in excellent form and would have pushed very hard for promotion if the season hadn’t been declared null and void.
“We are ambitious as a club and it wasn’t all on PPG. We submitted a fantastic application which emphasised the facilities we have, the contribution we make to the development of girls and women’s football across the county and how we believe that promotion would have pushed us on to that next level, not just on the pitch.
“It is disappointing not to be selected but I want to thank everyone who has helped us in our bid: not just the brilliant people who got our application together but also all the players, the staff and the supporters who have been amazing these last two seasons.
“It is a setback but that is all it is. It won’t stop us striving to be better in everything we do and we will come back for pre-season determined to make amends and push for promotion via the league table this time next year.”