Forest Green Rovers have been criticised after issuing a statement on the decision to discontinue their Women’s team.
The club say that they will no longer have a Forest Green Rovers Women’s side for the 2026/27 season, with their focus instead on the Men’s bid for an EFL return.
FGR Women finished the 2025/26 season sitting 2nd and a point behind leader Torquay, missing out on winning promotion from the South West Regional Womens Football League Premier Division.
Club update regarding Women’s & Girls ETC.
Read here: https://t.co/Dve0Yq0NJH#WeAreFGR💚 pic.twitter.com/f2XR5zTjQT
— Forest Green Rovers (@FGRFC_Official) June 30, 2026
A spokesman for Forest Green Rovers said, as per their website:
“We had been in discussions with Hartpury Uni about a partnership, but the Uni made a decision that ruled out the possibility of a joint team.
This means we’ll also be stepping back from our joint involvement with Hartpury’s Elite Training Centre for girls aged 9 to 16.
Our partnership with Hartpury has been worthwhile and valued, we’ll continue to support them as they explore ways to take the programme forward through Hartpury Women FC.
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.
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.”
A few months back, the club also said as per their website:
Forest Green Rovers, one of only two National League teams with a youth academy (EFL Category 3 level), has taken the tough decision to reduce the scope of the FGR Academy – costs have become unsustainable, standing at over £1 million per year.
The FGR Academy will continue to operate squads for U15s, U16s and the U18 Scholarship Programme: the flagship of the academy, where players undertake a two-year football apprenticeship. But it will be dropping the U9s to U14s programmes.
FGR Chairman Dale Vince OBE said: “This was a tough decision because I love what we do at the Academy – but the fact is, at over £1m per year, it’s unsustainable for a club our size.
“So we’re reducing the scope of the Academy, but we’ll continue to fund the U15s, U16s, and U18 squads – that’s good news. FGR is one of just two clubs in the National League that offer academy-standard opportunities to nurture local talent, and that’s going to continue on a smaller scale.
“We’re talking to the staff from the Academy to offer the support and assistance that we can, and we’ll be meeting the parents to explain the situation.”
As mentioned, Forest Green have been criticised after discontinuing their Women’s team to focus on the Men’s bid for an EFL return…
@Hoppo101: Spending stupid amounts of money, players sat in the stand all season, new training ground, new stadium, funding Labour, first the academy, now girls team and womans team. Baffles me. Hopefully they can all find clubs and continue to enjoy the game. Any sensible FGR fans have am opinion on this, or from the outside are we looking at it wrong?
@SophiaMcGrath5: One point away from promotion last month. And to try and blame the place where we train and play is shocking. Have loved this team and can’t thank @FGRFC_Women staff and amazing team mates enough for the last two seasons 💚🖤 #wewerefgr
@GlosGroundhop: This being the same club that 3 years ago appointed a female manager cause supposedly thought women should have equal opportunities
@Jakey_Boyz: Guessing it really isn’t her game too
@DylanFGRbanks: Horrendous decision who ever made this. To sack off an academy and now the women’s team. Feel bad for all the players. Something not right at this club.
@JoshTalksEFL: maybe you should’ve thought about this before signing three full 11’s for non league football, whichever way you look at it, it’s incompetence and unfortunately the Women and Girls take the brunt of it
@JonesKatie_: To give us zero communication until last week is crazy. They’ve left an entire squad with no club at the worst possible time. It’s clear we were never cared for, just treated as an after thought. We deserve better.
@charlieamyrowly: Absolutely horrified.
@Biff8669: ‘Her game too’ my a***, awful decision that inevitable will backfire !
@Jack_fgr: So we had long sercs harries on the books doing absolutely nothing and being a cash sink, however the woman’s team was the biggest one? Awful
@chrisstatman: This is a disasterous take for a club that prides itself on social justice. Its a terrible take for a family club who should pride itself on inclusivity. @DaneVince i will happily offer my time to find a way of making @FGRFC_Women continue – up for a meeting?
@1889_bedders: Horrendous decision that
@charlieamyrowly: Shocked to see this delivered with such little class. Feel sorry for my ex teammates in what’s now an awful position to be in and horrified at the club 🙁
@TheWilluf: Feeble excuses. Smaller independent women’s teams have battled on with far less and even succeeded at the same level of the pyramid.
@HHDolphinWatch: Can afford the biggest squad in men’s football though. #WeAreFGR
@jpl95859100: So first and foremost the players were only informed on Friday in a Teams call. They were informed that the club could no longer afford to run the women’s programme and needed to focus resources on the men’s team. How they are dressing this up as a Hartpury problem is incredible.
@AlfieHi14845583: Disgusting, all the progress in women’s football for it to be ripped up, you’d never ever see a men’s team being dismantled like this – Her game too is just a few words that never actually mean what they say
@AndertonCath: Terrible decision that one! 😔 What happened to Her Game Too??
@LTFC_Dave: I feel sorry for those affected, but a lot of people getting on their high horse about this need to accept that there just isn’t the demand for women’s football outside the WSL (and WSL2). Be honest without looking it up, who knew what league FGR’s women’s team were in?