Burnley Women will remain in the third tier as bid to take Blackburn’s place fails | OneFootball

Burnley Women have failed in their bid to take the place of Blackburn Rovers in the second tier, with the team forced to remain in National League North.

Blackburn Rovers announced at the beginning of June that they would withdraw from the WSL2, with the club owners unwilling to meet the league’s minimum criteria for next season.

Rovers were unable to live up the new requirements on facilities, player welfare and staffing set by the league.

A club statement read: “This decision follows a comprehensive review of the evolving demands placed on second tier clubs, which have become unsustainable under our current model.”

As they have been forced to withdraw from the league, Blackburn Rovers will drop down to Division One North which is in the fourth tier.

Burnley Women make bid for WSL2 spot

With Blackburn removed from the league, their local rivals decided to make a bid to take their place in the second tier next season.

Burnley’s proposal was waved away by the league, and it was Sheffield United that were immediately reinstated to the WSL2 despite their relegation at the end of last year.

As the Clarets’ proposal was rejected they will remain in the National League North for the 2025/26 season.

Burnley have been progressing well as a club despite struggling to get promotion and they took the next step in their development at the end of May when they officially became a full-time professional club.

In 2023/24 Burnley got the closest they’ve been to promotion in the club’s history, finishing in 2nd place just nine points behind champions Newcastle United.

Last season the team dropped down the table to fourth in a much more competitive campaign that saw Nottingham Forest gain promotion to WSL2.

In their first full season as a professional team the hopes are higher than ever before for Burnley Women, who will fancy themselves to win the National League North in 2025/26.