'I thought we were getting somewhere': Forest Green Women's captain brands club's decision to axe team 'classless'
The captain of Forest Green Rovers Women has told LBC the decision to drop the team to focus on progressing the men raises “questions around how committed they are to equality”.
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The team recently had their best season to date, finishing second in the South West Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division.
But on June 30, a statement was released saying “Forest Green Rovers will not have a women's team for the 2026/27 season”.
Women’s Captain Hattie Jones told LBC the decision goes against the club’s image as “progressive and forward-thinking”.
FGR is owned by left-wing green energy tycoon Dale Vince, who has transformed the club since taking over in 2010. It describes itself as the only certified vegan team in the world. The club’s website also markets it as the world’s greenest.
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But the statement from the club says: “Forest Green Rovers is committed to returning to the EFL as quickly as possible, and that means concentrating our resources and efforts on strengthening the Club and achieving that goal”.
The Green Devils were relegated from League Two in 2024 and have failed to return, losing in the national league play-offs twice.
Hattie Jones said the “classless” statement “really highlights how undervalued the women's game is and women's players are”.
She told LBC: ”Even just the amount of girls that have come through our pathway, you know, all of those girls now sadly have to look for other clubs, and I wonder how many spaces are going to be left at that level with the lateness that this decision has been made.”
Jones claims the decision is a back-track for women’s sports: “The general sort of overarching feelings among young girls and women within the game is going to be 'you know, hold on a minute, I thought we were getting somewhere. Actually, are we?’”
Forest Green Rovers is not the only club to have recently chosen to axe its women’s team. In June, Plymouth Argyle announced a similar move saying, “we made the difficult decision to not renew any of the players’ contracts for next season”.
Hattie Jones says the dumping of women’s teams to focus on men’s football raises concerns for the future of grassroots sports for women and girls, saying “I think absolutely it does feel unfair”.
She told LBC it’s a particular blow because the team were doing well.
“We came second in the league, that's the highest we've ever finished. We made it the furthest we've ever made it in the FA Cup. I think we only lost one game, I think we drew a couple, lost one game the whole season”.
Jones acknowledged the financial difficulties many clubs face in lower-league women’s football teams.
However, she said lots of clubs are still “continuing to push their women's team and girls' setup, sadly Forest Green have just gone the other way. We're not making money. You know, success on paper is not enough, I suppose. So, we've just been completely disbanded”.
In the statement released on the club’s website, FGR also said: “This isn't goodbye to women's football at Forest Green.
“We'd like to return to it in the future, when the time is right and when we can build a programme that is sustainable and successful for the long term.
“We'd like to thank the players, staff, volunteers and supporters who have been part of the women's programme and wish them every success for the future.”
LBC has contacted Forest Green Rovers and Dale Vince for comment.