On Thursday June 11, two hours before a ball was kicked in the World Cup, it was announced that Reading Women were to return under the club umbrella, ready for the start of the 2026/27 season.
Although fans of the Women’s team had been promised that good news was to come, I don’t think anyone associated with the side could have foreseen or expected such magnificent developments:
- The return to the Select Car Leasing Stadium for selected fixtures
- The Women’s first team resuming training back at Bearwood, joined by both the under-16 and under-14 sides
- Plans to live-stream Women’s first-team fixtures on Reading FC’s official YouTube channel
It’s not often in the world of football, and certainly not in the case of all Reading fans over the last decade, that we’re
rocked by good news of such magnitude. Way beyond any of my expectations.
And I’m sure it’s great news too for many other Reading fans who perhaps don’t watch the team but are equally delighted to welcome back the Women’s and girls pathway sides into the wider community group.
On Monday evening, Ross and I got the chance to talk to Head of Women & Girls Football Emma Hopkins on the podcast. We chatted through everything that’s been announced and took the opportunity to thank those involved not only in making this happen, but also in keeping the Women’s team and pathway afloat over the last two years.
It was such a bolt out of the (Royal) blue that, after talking to Emma, it got me thinking about whether I’d missed any obvious signs to come to this conclusion. I took the opportunity to sit down and review all the communications, commentary and dialogue from the club over the last six months to see if the clues were there all along.
I metaphorically donned my deerstalker cap, neatly tapered the ends of my virtual moustache and channelled my inner Miss Marple to look back at the evidence.
My first port of call was back in February when I asked Rob Couhig about ongoing funding for the Women’s team during the joint Q&A with Todd Trosclair before the men’s match against Bradford City.
Maybe it was all part of the master plan (you can take the lawyer out of the US, etc…) but there were certainly some mixed messages to begin with:
“I think we will have some things to help the funding of the Women’s team.”
So far, so good, I thought. But then there was the ‘ah’ moment.
“But to put it into context, the Women’s team is run by the [Community] Trust. The football club this year puts up £45,000 of your money towards women’s football.
“Does that mean we’re going to zero [next season]? No, we will probably try to take it down a little but we are looking at alternatives.”
This last sentence was, unfortunately, what one of the local newspapers rather disappointingly concentrated on – together with a sensational headline – which I understand caused a bit of concern among some fans, players and families, leaving the Reading coaching team to expertly handle, correct and deal with the fallout.
It was an article which didn’t need to be published when Couhig ended his reply in true professional style, leaving us with another positive nugget, reiterating that:
“We’re working on it and it is of interest to us. There will be some interesting developments on the Women’s side in the next six weeks.”
Although the six weeks came and went, the mood remained positive among fans and it felt like it was just a matter of when – rather than if – the good news would be announced. This was reaffirmed when Couhig returned to the TTE Podcast towards the end of April.
Ross, as my podcast detective partner (in more of a Harry Bosch role), once again found the chairman in positive form and left what now looks like a breadcrumbs trail of what was to come. When asked about the finances, he replied:
“The numbers are smaller… we can live with the losses as we grow the club easier on that side, than the men’s [teams]. I don’t think there’s a real bar to us growing it.”
It was a task to be picked up by entrusted fellow co-directors Rick Catania and Alec Lundberg (whose wife, and goddaughter of Couhig, is a professional footballer in the US) as Couhig explained:
“Part of what I’ve talked to Rick and Alec about is the off-pitch reaction. How do we make it more attractive? Not just appealing to other little girls who watch the game but to everybody. How do we get more people out to watch their matches?
“We’re talking about some things in respect of the venue for where they play their games, where they practice and the like, which I think fans of the Women’s game will find very, very exciting.
“Fans of those of us who want the men’s game and the women’s game to be economically successful will find it exciting.
“I’m excited about it because, in [Rick and Alec], I’ve got people I absolutely trust and I know what they want to do [and] they want to use this team to grow that sport.”
Although it felt genuine throughout, there was further optimism when Couhig added another timeline comment – “we’re going to have an announcement about [the Women’s team] in the not-too-distant future” – on that podcast appearance.
Ross and Ben get all the big names and next up was Catania. The American co-director, like Ross, made the trip across the Atlantic to be a part of the live podcast event at Siren Craft Brew on the morning of the men’s last match of the season, against Blackpool.
Among some very open and frank discussions, there were more clues about where the Women’s team would be playing next season.
After watching the team win their 12th match of the season, beating Oxford City earlier in the week, Catania was full of praise for both the players and coaching staff.
Catania and Lundberg had stood alongside the Royals faithful for a thoroughly enjoyable match. In fact, the only part of the evening he didn’t enjoy was “driving 40 minutes to the home game at Arbour Park”, as he told the podcast.
Not because of the facilities at Slough Town – over the last two seasons it’s been an excellent, warm and welcoming home venue for both players and fans alike – but simply because of the distance required to get to a home match.
Catania added: “We could stand to have a Reading team playing in Reading.”
Shortly after, we had an early breakthrough in the investigations when we found out that Arbour Park wouldn’t be the home venue going forwards. The friendly and well-meaning staff let slip that they would miss us all next season.
Even after the season had finished (for both the men and the women), the hints continued to be slipped in, unnoticed.
On the re-reading of the announcement of American side Louisiana Fire SC as an affiliate club (May 11), there’s another clear reference of things to come:
“The collaboration will extend beyond matchdays, with opportunities for elite boys’ and girls’ teams to travel to Bearwood Park and take part in fixtures against Reading’s academy and Women’s sides.”
In contrast, Reading manager Ed Jackson-Norris, Hopkins and the wider coaching team – to their credit – all remained tight-lipped.
Jackson-Norris held firm and didn’t crack under pressure from the 20 questions that Neil (the noisiest of our noisy fans), Alison and I fired at him.
Artificial or grass surface? “Grass.” Aha, winning. And that was where it stopped.
New home pitch close to a river? “I’m not very good with geography.”
Close to a lake? “Ditto.”
Could the site be anything to do with an old golf course? “I don’t play golf.”
As far as tough questioning goes, it wasn’t exactly the FBI, but you could see where we were heading. As it turned out, we were close in one aspect but far away in another, with no expectation or inclination that the team, pathway and academy girls would all be training again at Bearwood.
In addition, we openly dismissed and ruled out any questions about the SCL Stadium, thereby conceding an early own goal – not that he would have given anything away.
I might be proved wrong but the results of my review and investigations have led me to the conclusion that not many, if any – including the most optimistic fans (and even those older supporters who were able to crack the dusty bin clues on 3-2-1. Google it…) would have come to the conclusion of what was announced last Thursday.
Thank you to the Reading club board. Thank you to Emma and the Community Trust for keeping this dream alive. And thank you for making what’s already an enjoyable team to watch – and a tantalising season ahead – even more exciting!
