Could the Draft work in the FA WSL?
The European model of football is the most popular for the sport there is no doubt about it. Where teams have academy and reserve team set up to groom locally and international sourced talent for their first teams.
The might of the Premier League may mean the practicality of a draft becomes very difficult but with the growing popularity of the women’s game is it possible to include some sort of Draft to grow the game?
The US collegiate application to the sport in relation to the MLS however is very interesting and stirred up the thought of what would happen if British football adopted a draft system?
Well immediately there wouldn’t be any room for the excellent academy system that currently exists. Let’s take a look at what the Draft system is and how it brings unsigned talents in the professional game.
What is the Draft?
The draft is a system used in the United States and Canada that allocates amateur players to teams. A process to share new talent amongst teams at the beginning of the season.
Each team takes turn choosing from a selective pool of eligible players. These players are selected primarily based on how they’ve performed at amateur level.
The team gains exclusive rights to offer their selected player(s) to a contract. The draft continues until teams have completed the existing rounds.
In the NFL, the lowest ranked side picks first and the SuperBowl winners would pick last.
You would often see teams trade for draft picks, deals can be sorted where players can be waived in order for a team to gain an advantage in the upcoming draft pick.
The NFL’s use of the draft and salary caps ensures that teams aren’t driven by financial motives when recruiting players.
Pros of the Draft system:
Players and their agents have less of an influence when it comes to transfer movement. The draft system means that agents touting their players around for transfers.
There would be no leverage to threaten to walk away on Bosman ruling. Contracts would have a different kind of weight in a draft system.
The only way players could move between clubs if clubs allowed them to be free agents at the end of their contracts or ‘trades’ or transfers were initiated between teams.
We have also seen in recent years chasm appearing between the bigger sides in the Premier League. From top 4 for a significant period of time to top 6 or 7 sides.
Since 1992, seven clubs have won the Premier League. You look at the NFL who have been using the system for so long in the same time frame have had sixteen different Superbowl winners.
The MLS cup since 1996 has had fourteen different winners. This system makes sure no one team can sweep up all the best talent domestically at least and the instant effect is that the league is kept competitive.
Since the birth of the Women’s Super League in its existing format there have been 4 different winners in 10 years.
If teams within the English Football League pyramid sponsored or developed partnerships with their local semi-professional sides and Universities in a merger format with existing academies I see the potential for doors to open for a lot of more English players to come through.
This can only be positive for women’s English football and the English national team in the future.
Cons of the Draft system:
The parameters that follow a draft system is interesting in terms of salary caps, tighter contracts and more competitive teams.
The appeal of the Premier League would reduce with more players looking towards other European Leagues for larger wage opportunities.
Teams in the NFL have been quietly accused of losing purposefully in order to receive higher draft picks. Pure speculation of course.
But it could leave the Premier League in an ethical grey area if teams would play to benefit from the draft instead of gaining points on the league table.
The obvious con to any draft system is that there is no need for Youth academies, as the draft would need the relevant bodies to redefine and restructure university football.
The drafts that exist have collegiate sport systems as their foundations. The USA recruits a majority of their players internally.
We are aware of the existing statistics of players making it as professional players from academy set-ups.
It’s interesting that according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) only 9 out of 10,000 high school senior players are drafted by an NFL side. So, the issue could still remain as to how many talents sign a pro deal.
It is important to mention that there are clubs in England that hold up the rest of the football pyramid. The all-stars like Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are a huge draw worldwide.
The worldwide attraction of these clubs is significant for the football league pyramid. So, if every team were on a level playing field the quality of the league would suffer in terms of sponsorship and TV revenue.
How the draft could work in the FA WSL:
The FA WSL has begun to receive the recognition it deserves with deals in place with big TV broadcasters.
Most of the existing recruitment for the WSL does come from the American Collegiate ‘’soccer’’ system. There is an opportunity for England to rival that and produce some talent for the WSL
The women’s football pyramid does need some serious investment in a way that
Any draft implemented would need a heavy endorsement for the existing governing body for university sport: British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS)
BUCS pride themselves on getting more students active more often through competitive sport. If this governing body married the draft system it would need a complete overhaul.
Let’s say BUCS had the funding from the FA and relevant governing bodies for the women’s and men’s game then Universities would have to reshuffle the existing format in their recruitment of talented young women.
The logistics may have to begin as early as the UCAS application process, recruiters or coaches may have to consult the women semi-professional sides and sixth forms/colleges to sound out candidates.
Grassroots and semi-professional games would receive a lot more coverage with scouts watching over the various leagues and competitions looking to bring prospective talent to university.
The BUCS system allows universities to have more than one side representing the university so a 1st and 2nd or main and shadow squad system could be an idea that is flirted with in order to allow more chances for progression.
Ultimately, these women will live out the complete student athlete experience where they are able to get the most out of their studies too.
The WSL transfer window opens early in June and closes late in September aligning perfectly with the conclusion of academic season coming in the summer.
The Draft or SuperDraft could be aligned within this window. Prospective players or ‘‘rookies’’ can be presented as a result of a selection process looking at all the top performers across the various regions.
The number of eligible rookies is much down to those who govern the draft and University sporting systems. In the MLS up to 90 men’s players are eligible for the draft and in the NWSL up to 36 women’s players.
Like the US Draft, we could implement a FA WSL combine, where the best of these student athletes showcases their abilities to clubs in the football pyramid. A combine can include a series of matches, standardised or specialised drills to evaluate an attribute.
The FA WSL and Championship sides will all have an opportunity to select a player from the selected crop of players. This invitation can easily be extended to the 3rd level on the pyramid and include the Southern and Northern National Leagues.
Ideally just like existing draft the lower ranking sides pick first and these picks can be traded amongst clubs along with players in transfer and loan dealings.
This type of event could be televised much how the draft is televised in the US. This also allows us to build a rapport with teams as fans and keen viewers would be keen to see how recruited players get on in the upcoming season.
Opinions on a Draft
Personally, the draft idea has always appealed to me but with the rapid evolution of the Premier League, it isn’t very practical for the way it exists currently.
The draft system would become obsolete in the men’s football pyramid. The Draft only thrived in the MLS because of the lack of academy system at the time but with the MLS slowly growing fans are starting to question its effectiveness.
For me, it is still effective given the fact that the only professional sides are within both conferences and can’t be relegated so it gives amateur players a chance to get into the professional set-up.
The FA WSL, compared to its counterparts in the men’s game, very much in its infancy.
With owners of the various teams favouring to invest more in the men’s teams and academies then the women’s teams, there is on opportunity to revolutionise player recruitment and improve the homegrown talent in the league.
For this to take place, the stars must align from Downing Street all the way to sixth form, colleges and grassroots clubs.
It would make the university system much more appealing, bring an added excitement to women’s competitions domestically and internationally. As well as, change the existing perceptions and attitudes of the game by seeing how hard these players work.
Ultimately, this is all in theory and many more conversations and meetings need to be had if this was ever to come in to fruition. Making two vital pillars of our community the education sector and sports sector to bring a positive outcome for the evolving women’s game.