Reading withdrawal an ‘awful situation’ – Charlie Estcourt

Estcourt said there had been whispers about the future of the club “all season,” and with Sheffield United and Blackburn also facing financial uncertainty, Estcourt believes there should be intervention and regulation from the Football Association.

I think it’s something the Championship needs to look at,” she said.

“Obviously, the WSL is a full-time league and a full-time model, but I still think there’s enough clubs around that have the support and infrastructure, even within the National League.

“Maybe the league needs to put in some minimum guidelines because it’s not fair on the players.

“Every year there’s this uncertainty about whether you’re going to be able to play full-time football next year at the same club. With these minimum guidelines all of that worry goes away, if you can’t meet those requirements, you can’t be in the league and another club will take the place, it’ll give more opportunities for everyone.”

Estcourt says she has signed for another club with an announcement to come in the coming days but feels the lack of communication from Reading means some of her teammates are now struggling to find a new club.

“In an awful situation like this, the only thing you can do is communicate well and the best you can,” she added.

“A lot of the times we were told that there was nothing to tell, but that’s not good enough. If there was more communication some of the girls might not be in this situation.”

Estcourt feels the women’s side of the club being sacrificed shows that the women’s game remains a lesser priority at some clubs.

“It’s very frustrating, especially at a club like Reading which has amazing history in the women’s game,” she said.

“The club has always been known for having a great women’s set up and academy, so it’s really frustrating because they do have all the infrastructure there, it’s just the people at the top don’t want to fund it.

“The whole club is in trouble, so they have to look at prioritising the men’s team which always happens.”