Portsmouth Women take ‘one club’ policy and won’t play until Kenny Jackett’s men return to action

Action from Portsmouth Women's game against Watford earlier in the season. Picture: Jordan Hampton

A meeting has taken place with board members from both parties present where it was decided postponing competitive action was the best step to take.

The FA Women's National League are presently allowing clubs within their structure to make decisions themselves as to whether to carry on playing matches.

However, with Kenny Jackett's team unable to return to action until April 3 following the Premier League and EFL suspension, Pompey Women wanted to follow suit and postpone all matches.

But the club's women's boss Jay Sadler was critical of the league for not intervening and taking the decision of their hands.

‘A number of games went ahead at the weekend and it was a club discretion of whether we wanted to continue or not,' said Sadler.

‘We had a meeting with the main club itself.

‘But with us being under the umbrella and adopting a one club approach, we’ve done the same and suspended our games indefinitely until April 3.

‘We felt it was necessary to do the same with everything, the reasons behind and why.

‘We’re a little bit surprised as to why the league have not just done it.

‘We’ve got to admit that football takes a back seat on this occasion.

'We’re one club and there are a lot of policies and things that go through the club.

‘Out of respect as a whole club, we will continue to do that.

‘We don’t want it to be a conflict and it looks contrasting that the men can’t play but the women can.

It's been a season of misery for Pompey who have completed just nine Women's National League Southern Premier Division matches.

The wet weather has caused havoc with their fixture schedule, and now the Covid-19 outbreak has added to the issue.

Sadler would not complain if the league were to write the current campaign off.

'The question now is will the season ever continue and end?’ he asked.

‘From our perspective, it sounds quite cynical in a way but it wouldn’t be a bad one to scratch off and restart.

‘We have still got to play 15 games in nine weeks.

‘Now calling the games off, we’ve got to play 15 in six weeks.

‘We’ll be looking at three games in a week which from a welfare point of view is not feasible.'